every comment here seem to be try to analyse this film . don not . it be a sickening film . the whole premise that a man ( and you could probably have insert a woman in a similar role ) can purposely go and commit such emotional horror be soul destroy . that what make this such compulsive viewing . there can not be a person out there who hasn not at one point deliberately take an action that have have similar repercussion . emotionally cruelty be the bad cruelty of all . the performance be straight out of reality and when couple with the direction it make me feel that i be a fly on the wall . that what hurt . chad character be not over the top a suggest elsewhere in here . you can pick a chad out in plenty of place . unfortunately the stereotyped male lead ( superstud and nerdy ) spoil the film a bit and whilst a deaf girl isn not exactly a character you can despise and her deafness become increasingly irrelevant a the film go on ( a see by the emotional bond that develop between the nerd and christine ) . ultimately it doesn not say anything about the male psyche or relationship and but it do show an extreme version of the kind of emotional cruelty of which we be all capable .