Kevin Spacey, the ’story teller’, does a remarkable job - and YES - his Oscar was well-deserved indeed! This movie is one which is finally ’understood’ as it draws to the conclusion. The actors AND the characters they portray are as good a ’fit’ as I’ve ever seen! Unusual is that the ’background music’ is minimized, which I find to be remarkable! We have become too accustomed to all KINDS of music that ’cues’ the viewer. Music in this movie is timely - NOT redundant! I’ve watched it several times, and - despite knowing how it turns out in the end - find this movie to be one of THE best I’ve ever seen. Prepare yourself for some violence, bad language, etc., yet, somehow, all of that stuff ’fits’. In the end, the viewer should ultimately understand that people are NOT whom we presume them ’to be’. Instead, we all have our secrets - and some of us hide our secrets very well, yes .. very well indeed.