Don’t Say a Word
- TESTED.2001 DATE
Michael Douglas is “tremendous” (Tribune News Services) inthe psychological thriller “in the classic Hitchcock tradition” (The New York Observer). When The daughter of a prominent new York psychiatrist (Douglas) is kidnapped, his only hope for her safe return is to pry a 6-digit number from the memory of a troubled teenage girl – and time is running out!Adapted from Andrew Klavan’s bestselling suspense novel, Don’t Say a Word is a suitable companion to director Gary Fleder’s earlier hit Kiss the
List Price: $ 14.98
Price: [wpramaprice asin=”B00026ZD04″]
[wpramareviews asin=”B00026ZD04″]
[wprebay kw=”trading+psychology” num=”0″ ebcat=”267″]
Brittany Murphy Does It Again!,
The TV ads for this movie had made me want to rush to the theaters to see this film, but alas, I had to wait for it to come out on video before actually viewing this great flick. The movie is full of action and nail-biting suspense. Michael Douglas plays a successful psychiatrist in private practice who is asked by a colleague to interview a perplexing patient. The patient, played exquisitely by Brittany Murphy, is perceived as a paranoid schizophrenic by some, delusional by others, a real puzzle to the psychiatric community. As Dr. Conrad (Douglas) delves into the case, he discovers that Patient Barrows’ (Murphy) case isn’t as complicated as it seems. However, his successful attempts to reach the patient have drawn some undesireable attention. It seems that Conrad’s patient has a very important number locked deep inside her disturbed mind and someone is willing to do anything to get that number. That someone, played by Sean Bean, kidnaps Conrad’s daughter and threatens to kill her if Conrad doesn’t get the number from Barrows. Attempts to retrieve the number give us the movie’s catch phrase: I’ll never tell.
Brittany Murphy’s performance in this film is nothing short of spectacular. I work with psychiatric patients and I can honestly say that she gives off a very convincing performance. Michael Douglas, Sean Bean, and Famke Janssen are also great, but Murphy steals the show in this one. A very talented actress!
While I thoroughly enjoyed this movie, I feel it is only fair to warn you that there are a couple of inconsistancies. First, there is a scene involving an attack made by Patient Barrows against an orderly in Rockland State. Well, working at Rockland Psych. Center (which is the only state hospital in Rockland), I can assure you that we have no such thing as an orderly. Also, some of the scenes in Manhattan are a little off, but you would only notice if you lived out here. And a warning for those of you who want to see this because you read the book. Although the basic premise is the same, the story takes a completely different turn. If you were expecting the same outcome in the movie as the book, you’ll be a tad disappointed, but definitely see it anyway – it’s well worth it!!!
Was this review helpful to you?
|Check out the Brittany Murphy Audition on the DVD,
This thriller is full of very strong performances. Of very special note is Brittany Murphy. On the DVD is Brittany Murphy’s audition, which is nothing less than searing; some of the most powerful acting I have ever seen. Even if you don’t watch the movie, watch the audition. The audition performance is considerably more intense than the same scene in the movie because it has no cuts, no breaks. It is just one 5 minute long take. It is like going 5 minutes without blinking. Powerful stuff. One can envision the producers getting the funding to complete the movie on the basis of this audition alone.
Actually all the actors are very good, Michael Douglas, Famke Janssen, who plays Michael Douglas’s wife and Skye McCole Bartusiak who is their daughter are all attractive and winning. Skye McCole Bartusiak as the daughter deserves special note as she imbues that role with a sweet intelligence. The good guys are attractive and we care about them. Sean Bean, the bad guy, has a scary intensity sort similar to Robert Shaw of Jaws fame.
The problem with Don’t Say a Word is its plot. Sean Bean’s character is both a mad dog killer and a cool, calculating criminal mastermind. On the one hand, Bean kills the one man who can tell him where to find what he is looking for … on a subway platform in front of dozens of witnesses. (Talk about a dumb move!) On the other he plans a split-second bank heist of considerable complexity. On the one hand he kills a kidnap victim while the ransomer (Oliver Platt) has yet to do what Bean wants. (Bean was bored? Didn’t care? Who knows?) On the other he plots another complex kidnapping and manipulation of the Michael Douglas character. Add this to other characters acting particularly stupid (Jennifer Esposito plays a cop who does not believe in calling for backup until it is too late for the backup to come in a timely manner/ do any good.) and the movie loses us as it piles improbability on improbability. Too bad that all those fine performances don’t add up to much.
Was this review helpful to you?
|Sleek, suspenseful entertainment….,
I read a couple of negative reviews of DON’T SAY A WORD when it first came out. I have to wonder if we saw the same movie. I think too many people over-analyze thrillers, instead of allowing themselves to be entertained. More than any other genre, thrillers rely on your visceral reaction to what’s going on, not the logical. Don’t get me wrong, logic is important to thrillers, otherwise they’re not believable. But after a certain point, you should just let the film entertain you. DON’T SAY A WORD does just that.
Michael Douglas plays a celebrated child psychiatrist married to a gorgeous amazon (the talented and underrated Famke Janssen, easily the most beautiful woman in the world), with a six-year old daughter (Sky Cole Bartusiak) who, unlike most child characters in thrillers, is not irritating and cloying. Anyhow, the family’s thanksgiving plan are disrupted when the munchkin is abducted in the middle of the night by a gang of jewel thieves (led by the equally talented and underrated Sean Bean). Turns out they need the good doctor to coax out some information from a “schizophrenic” patient (the terrific Brittany Murphy) by the end of the day, or daughter goes bye-bye.
The rest of the flick moves at lightning speed as Dr. Conrad races against time to get the information from the girl. Parallel storylines involving a tough cop (Jennifer Esposito, easily the second most beautiful woman in the world after Famke)who inadverdently finds herself on the trail of the thieves, and Famke Janssen trapped in her apartment because of ber broken leg lend fuel to this already brightly-burning fire of a movie. Best sequence involves intercutting of Jennifer chasing Michael and Brittany, and Famke fighting off a murderous assassin despite her cast. Speaking of Famke’s sequence, never before have I cheered when a bad guy got what was coming to him. Moral of the story? A desperate mother will still kick your [butt], leg cast or not. All in all, there never is any doubt about how this movie will all end, but getting there is a thrill ride from hell. Which is what a thriller should aspire to be. This is not rocket science, just rock-solid entertainment.
Was this review helpful to you?
|