Antitrust (2001)

Director:

Peter Howitt

Writer (WGA):

Howard Franklin (written by)

Release Date:

12 January 2001 (USA)

Genre:

Thriller | Crime | Drama

Tagline:

Truth can be dangerous... Trust can be deadly.

Plot:

A computer programmer's dream job at a hot Portland-based firm turns nightmarish when he discovers his boss has a secret and ruthless means of dispatching anti-trust problems.

Plot Keywords:

Job | Computer | Genius | Boss | Computer Programmer

Awards:

2 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Ryan Phillippe	...	Milo Hoffman
Rachael Leigh Cook	...	Lisa Calighan
Claire Forlani	...	Alice Poulson
Tim Robbins	...	Gary Winston
Douglas McFerran	...	Bob Shrot
Richard Roundtree	...	Lyle Barton
Tygh Runyan	...	Larry Banks
Yee Jee Tso	...	Teddy Chin
Nate Dushku	...	Brian Bissel
Ned Bellamy	...	Phil Grimes
Tyler Labine	...	Redmond
Scott Bellis	...	Randy
David Lovgren	...	Danny
Zahf Paroo	...	Desi (as Zahf Hajee)
Jonathon Young	...	Stinky

Also Known As:

> Antitrust < (USA) (alternative spelling)
Conspiracy.com (Europe: English title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some violence and brief language.

Runtime:

109 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | SDDS

Certification:

Malaysia:U | Portugal:M/12 | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Ontario) | Netherlands:16 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Finland:K-11 | France:U | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIA | Iceland:L | New Zealand:M | Norway:11 | Singapore:PG | South Korea:12 | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | UK:12 | USA:PG-13 (certificate #37330)

Filming Locations:

Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Three of Winston's thugs have the last names Schmeichel, Sheringham and Solskjaer. This is a reference to the goalkeeper and goal scorers on Manchester United's 1999 U.E.F.A. Champions League winning team. The director is a Man. U fan.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Bob comes back to his office where Milo is waiting, Milo asks him if "everything was ok." When he says that, he puts is elbow on the arm of the chair, but when the camera shows him from a different angle, his arm is down and then he puts if back on the arm of the chair as if he had not done that before.

Quotes:

Milo: Now I'm going to go out on a limb here because there's a very good chance you're not going to believe a word of what I'm about to tell you.
Bob Shrot: You'd be surprised what I'd believe about these people.

Movie Connections:

References "ReBoot" (1994)

Soundtrack:

Cocktails

sometimes "realism" is not always better.

i think a lot of people who rated this movie negatively due to the fact that it's "not realistic" or "true to life" probably do not have a lot of experience with writing novels or screenplays.

first off, let us all accept the fact that most screenwriters, as much as they may love their craft, probably want to make money off their work. and, as they are human, and have human desires, chances are, they probably want to make a lot of money off their work. that means that sometimes, they have to alter their work (or otherwise "dumb down", but let's not phrase it that way) to make it more accessible to a mainstream audience. now, some people may view this as "selling out", but this isn't necessarily the case: generally, most writers want their work and their message to be appreciated and recognised by the public. this isn't easy to do if the public doesn't understand what the hell they're talking about.

it's not always best for a movie (or a novel, for that matter) to be 100% accurate, because even if everything about the topic completely fascinates you (and generally the author as well, else they wouldn't be writing a story about it), chances are, it's going to bore nearly everyone else--even some of the people who are interested in and are as knowledgeable about the exact same topic. if you want to see a film that is completely and in every way accurate, watch a documentary. do not watch a movie. a movie, like a novel, is supposed to imitate the interesting aspects of reality (conflict, struggle, victory, love, et cetera), it is not supposed to actually be reality. it is supposed to filter out the mundane and uninteresting parts of life.

for example, the fact that we rarely see milo typing code for synapse--we know he can do it (as in the daycare scene), what would it possibly at to the story to actually watch him code synapse? that would be boring. it's much like saying, we never saw any of the character sleep. well, we know they do--but we don't need to watch 8 to 12 hours of them actually doing it.

the only thing that really disappointed me about the movie was the fact that it didn't really explain the motivation for some of the characters' actions. why does lisa turn against milo, and in that same vein, why does allison suddenly decide to lie for him?