A great cast does what it can with ludicrous details.
The most intriguing aspect of this story is that the audience is constantly in search of a hero or victim, but all of the characters are villains, to varying degrees.
The real problem is the basic premise. It would have been nice if the writers would have actually done some research instead of making up ridiculous lies about the insurance industry.
For starters, attempting to deny or reduce legitimate claim payments is a practice called Unfair Claims Practices, and is prohibited in all states. Secondly, no insurance company would issue a life insurance policy to a known con man, especially for $1 million. (And you can not blame it on a particular office - all policies go through a central underwriting department at the main office.) Thirdly, once a life insurance policy has been in force for 2 years, it becomes incontestable. The only thing that would cause an investigation is if there is a question of the deceased's identity, or there is an accidental death benefit that might not be an accident. Furthermore, insurance fraudsters are notorious for NOT self-inflicting real damage to themselves. Lastly, a claims investigator, agent... can NOT do what James Whitaker's character does near the end of the movie, or even throughout the movie.
The ending was rather unusual. Afterward, it does make sense, in a strange way. But this is a strange film. Give it a try if you have nothing better to do and like strange plot twists.
The most intriguing aspect of this story is that the audience is constantly in search of a hero or victim, but all of the characters are villains, to varying degrees.
The real problem is the basic premise. It would have been nice if the writers would have actually done some research instead of making up ridiculous lies about the insurance industry.
For starters, attempting to deny or reduce legitimate claim payments is a practice called Unfair Claims Practices, and is prohibited in all states. Secondly, no insurance company would issue a life insurance policy to a known con man, especially for $1 million. (And you can not blame it on a particular office - all policies go through a central underwriting department at the main office.) Thirdly, once a life insurance policy has been in force for 2 years, it becomes incontestable. The only thing that would cause an investigation is if there is a question of the deceased's identity, or there is an accidental death benefit that might not be an accident. Furthermore, insurance fraudsters are notorious for NOT self-inflicting real damage to themselves. Lastly, a claims investigator, agent... can NOT do what James Whitaker's character does near the end of the movie, or even throughout the movie.
The ending was rather unusual. Afterward, it does make sense, in a strange way. But this is a strange film. Give it a try if you have nothing better to do and like strange plot twists.