In this deeply flawed tale, Mr. Affleck plays Gavin Banek, a hard-charging Manhattan lawyer who finally discovers his own morality.
Yet with the accusations leveled against the group and Sid Grossman, one of its founders and legendary teachers, the narrative, such as it is known, was a flawed tale.
A kind of distillation of Ms. Beattie's narrative techniques from both her early minimalist stories and later, more full-bodied ones, this intriguing but flawed tale chronicles the relationship of a na? young writer named Jane with an older Svengali of a lover named Neil, who promises to explain the world to her and change her life.
It calls to mind other, similarly flawed tales of personal failing and political corruption, from Night Falls on Manhattan to City Hall to 2011's The Ides of March.
With his history of "alcoholism, depression, violence and bloodshed," Robicheaux is the properly flawed hero for this tale of epic woe, which expands from oil-drilling disasters and missing singers to take in drug running, human trafficking, art forgery and Nazi war criminals.
It took me a while to admit, even to myself, that my "if-onlys" were as flawed as a fairy tale.
Initially, it was an irreverent mix of poetry, opinions and the continuing tales of a fictional "highly flawed, complete disaster of a diplomatic wife," she said.
Street dance might seem an odd style for a Dickensian tale, but in choreographer Tony Adigun's imaginative if flawed version of Oliver Twist, the nifty footwork and ducking and weaving suits all the pickpocketing and scamming in the story.
It's a heady tale, to be sure, but one that is fundamentally flawed.
Chris Schilling Deadly Premonition (Xbox 360, Rising Star Games) A dark, Lynchian tale of murder in a quiet American town, Deadly Premonition was technically flawed, but hugely ambitious and entertaining.
Flawed it may be, but "A Dream of Wealth," which runs through Sunday, is a rich tale.
