Every comment here seems to be trying to analyse this film. Don't. It is a sickening film. The whole premise that a man (and you could probably have inserted a woman in a similar role) can purposely go and commit such emotional horror is soul destroying. that's what makes this such compulsive viewing. There can't be a person out there who hasn't at one point deliberately taken an action that has had similar repercussions. Emotionally cruelty is the worst cruelty of all.<br /><br />The performances are straight out of reality and when coupled with the direction it made me feel that I was a fly on the wall. That's what hurt. Chad's character is not over-the-top as suggested elsewhere in here. You can pick a Chad out in plenty of places. Unfortunately the stereotyped male leads (superstud and nerdy) spoil the film a bit and whilst a deaf girl isn't exactly a character you can despise, her deafness becomes increasingly irrelevant as the film goes on (as seen by the emotional bonds that develop between the nerd and Christine).<br /><br />Ultimately it doesn't say anything about the male psyche or relationships, but it does show an extreme version of the kind of emotional cruelty of which we are all capable.