Every review I'm seeing for the low score is obsessed with the ending, calling it "horrible" and "lazy". They're missing the point of the entire film and shouldn't even have bothered watching. It's left open ended not out of laziness, but as an artistic choice. The point is, it's not about how his family reacted. The whole movie was about the deconstruction of Cranston's psyche. That's why the appropriate ending was about his EXPECTATIONS of their reactions. It ended with the scenarios playing out in his head, as a lot of the film featured. People who want an ending that tells you everything should see lesser movies then. It doesn't belong here. They're missing the point.
Other than the subject of the ending, which I had to point out, the film is very good. Bryan Cranston is excellent throughout, giving a vey lived-in performance that manages to feel fresh throughout. He is excellent at playing the anti-hero, the protagonist who isn't necessarily a good guy. Jennifer Garner is also very good, albeit in smaller doses. She does pull of the believability of being younger in the flashbacks though, something no amount of small budget makeup can do for Cranston. The special needs kids next door plot thread feels like the only failing of the film. It handles it fine, and they don't teach him some big lesson about himself really, but it does feel contrived as filler. But otherwise, the film serves as an all around great piece on a man's existential crisis
Other than the subject of the ending, which I had to point out, the film is very good. Bryan Cranston is excellent throughout, giving a vey lived-in performance that manages to feel fresh throughout. He is excellent at playing the anti-hero, the protagonist who isn't necessarily a good guy. Jennifer Garner is also very good, albeit in smaller doses. She does pull of the believability of being younger in the flashbacks though, something no amount of small budget makeup can do for Cranston. The special needs kids next door plot thread feels like the only failing of the film. It handles it fine, and they don't teach him some big lesson about himself really, but it does feel contrived as filler. But otherwise, the film serves as an all around great piece on a man's existential crisis