This film had a lot of potential: if everyone looks beneath the surface and into someone’s heart, you may not like what you find. Spiritual enlightenment and self awareness can lead to being content regardless of circumstances, but does not necessarily lead to being a better person if you discover that you are a deeply destructive person who selfishly prefers sensation over relationships with others. Whether or not you accept who you are is a different story. Id versus conscience. Do you burn the illusion of your life as a good person or do you try to have a real relationship with God? Robert De Niro was the weakest point of the movie. He has lost the ability to transform himself so there was never any tension as to what his character was capable of and thus no real surprise as the movie progressed. Because the film mostly focuses on DeNiro instead of equally focusing on the extremely talented ensemble cast, Stone suffers from it.