6 / 10
Parker acts up a storm (she's all anxious tics and mile-a-minute patter), while Arndt takes a more restrained approach - but neither ever fully convinces us that these characters' behavior is rooted in any recognizable reality. Just as in Anderson's movies, these aren't people so much as props being manipulated by their author to create a mood and affect. You either go for this sort of thing and find it endearingly odd, or fast grow weary of it. Even though 'Heisenberg' is directed with efficiency by Mark Brokaw ('Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella') and has its share of smart, charming dialogue, I grew weary.

