Con man goes to Cambodia, mystery ensues

Matt Dillon makes his writing and directorial debut with "City of Ghosts." Dillon, who also stars, has found his niche by playing humorously offbeat characters, often in dark comedies. Here, he plays a similar character, but with the humor absent for most of the film, leaving one to wonder what Dillon had in mind when creating "Ghosts."\nAn insurance fraud scam causes Jimmy (Dillon) to flee the States for Cambodia. At first it seems he is trying to find Marvin (James Caan), the man in charge of the insurance company. Instead, it turns out Jimmy is fleeing the feds to meet Marvin, who has been his partner in crime for years, and collect his share of the money. In this unfamiliar country, Jimmy gets caught up in yet another one of Marvin's scams involving murder, casinos and unstable government. True to Dillon's forte, there are many offbeat characters littered throughout the plot including the disgruntled bar/hotelkeeper, Emile (Gérard Depardieu), the backstabbing accomplice, Kaspar (Stellan Skarsgård), the good hearted rickshaw driver, Sok (Kem Sereyvuth) and the hot building conservationist, Sophie (Natascha McElhone). \nDillon's strongest suit comes in showing Cambodia as a character in and of itself. It's seen as a place that can be fun yet also dangerous. Caan is the MVP of this movie, not only carrying every scene he is in, but seeming in control of the scenes he is not. Depardieu's Emile is angry and over-the-top, and yet, he still comes off as human. The audience waits around for his character to play a larger part in the overall plot, but it never happens. He is always just the bar/hotelkeeper. \nWhile Dillon seems to be fine at directing, his biggest flaws ironically came in acting and writing. Dillon plays most of his scenes with a smirk, which may have been the way he pictured it while writing, but it took away from the seriousness of many scenes. Dillon's first effort as director/writer/star does show potential, and while he can handle other performers, he needs someone to scrutinize his own work.