It's a film of small delights rather than a home run, and an encouraging first foray for Dunsky.

Unable to decide where to go or what tone to adopt, it ends up treading water.

As a showcase for Tucci's comic skills, "The Alarmist" succeeds. We start the film feeling buoyed by his roosterlike energy and audacity, and we end it feeling let down by a script that can't quite decide what it wants to say.

Electric performances, the plot, and the cheerful guitar score by Christophe Beck, help make The Alarmist a fun and... well... "quirky" experience.