PSIPOOK|film|
| Don't Say a Word Director: Gary Fleder Starring: Michael Douglas, Sean Bean |
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| Main PsiFi Poetry Links Features Film |
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We have seen this film before
under dozens of different titles. No, it's not a remake, it is a directory
of every suspense film cliché we have seen. Doctor Nathan Conrad (Michael Douglas) is the hugely successful, wealthy, over-talented psychiatrist, unendingly good natured, and utterly devoted to his family whose idyllic existence is shattered by ruthless bad guys who try to use him and his family for their own evil ends. Conrad receives a call to see Elizabeth (Brittany Murphy) who is a unique mess of neuroses and in state care. The next morning, Conrad's gorgeous daddy's-girl daughter is missing from her bedroom. The nameless and sinister bad guy (Sean Bean) has her and will kill her unless Conrad recovers a six-digit number from Elizabeth's traumatised psyche. You know the rest. The tired premise is not rescued by the fact that Elizabeth's knowledge will lead them to a rare and expensive diamond. Diamonds as a motivator to evil deeds went out with the Boy's Own Comics in the 1930s. A brief glimmer of interest is raised at the prospect of the psychiatrist unravelling Elizabeth's unusual pathologies. We might even hope for some exploration of fear or of parental protective instincts in extreme situations. However, the psychology comes off the back of a Corn Flake packet, and no insight is offered. The acting is similarly cursory. Douglas runs the whole gamut of emotion from concerned father to vengefully angry father. Bean replays his role in Patriot Games, but with even less development. The film is slickly over-directed by Gary Fleder (Impostor, Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead). His staple is thrillers and suspense, and he covers his lack of imagination or artistry with affectation — odd angles, swinging cameras, abrupt changes of perspective, and lots of whooshing noises. A film to skip. Review by Chris Page |
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