Don't Say a Word
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Movie Reviews of Don't Say a Word
Movie Review: I'll Never Tell
Summary: 5 Stars
what would you do if you woke up one morning and your child was gone? There's no other word for the best suspense thriller for 2001. Finally a movie that held this reviewer attention from beginning to end
Movie Review: One of the greatest romantic comedies of all time
Summary: 5 Stars
I love the part where John Cusack is holding up the boombox in Ione Skye's front lawn and she says, "Lloyd, get off my lawn before I get a restraining order!" Makes me cry every time I see it.Movie Review: Intense
Summary: 5 Stars
Michael Dougles's performance in this intense thriller is awesome. this movie will keep you guessing and on the edge of your seat. this movie is awesome. britney murphy is awesome as wellMovie Review: The best movie
Summary: 5 Stars
This movie was not as good as THE OTHERS but it was still up there. I say this is a must see movie.Movie Review: A thriller that plays by the rules.
Summary: 4 Stars
Originality doesn't exactly seem to the director Gary Fleder's strong suit in "Don't Say A Word," which puts actor Michael Douglas in a comfort zone as a father whose family is put in jeopardy by someone out for something he holds the key to. As far as thrillers go these days, the film takes us right where we know it's going to go, but it's well-made, with terrific performances from Douglas and the rest of the cast, and a director whose competency in the genre is in full vigor. The story is adapted from the novel by Andrew Klavan, and begins by introducing us to a heist situation that goes sour. Moving ahead ten years, we meet Dr. Nathan Conrad (Michael Douglas), an adolescent psychologist known for his success with troubled teens. On the morning of Thanksgiving Day, he discovers his daughter has been kidnapped, held by the men seen in the opening scene who are demanding a piece of information tucked away in the mind of Nathan's newest patient, an 18-year-old catatonic.
As far as these situations go, Nathan finds himself in a tight spot. The kidnappers are able to keep watch over his apartment, leaving him little room for thwarting their demands. His wife, Aggie (Famke Janssen), is bedridden due to a skiing accident, virtually leaving her in harm's way when he ventures back to the hospital to question the easily-unsettled Elisabeth (Brittany Murphy).
Like most thrillers, there are some technical issues concerning minor plot points, many of which are easily overlooked. There's the question of how the kidnappers were able to set up surveillance on the Conrads with such ease, or how, despite the amount of security surrounding Elisabeth, they were able to plant a bug in her hospital room. These assumptions to unanswered questions are hardly ignorable, but do not exactly hinder the overall success of the film.
Fleder is able to keep things moving very steadily, providing a window of time that keeps us in the moment as Nathan races against the clock to progressively unlock the haunting memories in Elisabeth's subconscious. Not only that, but we are also given some well-constructed scenes between kidnapper and kidnappee, as well as some plot provided to the injured Aggie. The subplot involving a female cop played by Jennifer Esposito is a basic throwaway twist, but it fits in with the material nicely.
Once again, Douglas is at the top of his game, recalling his family instinct from "Fatal Attraction" and his drive for answers from "Basic Instinct," and fitting them into his character's father status. He's stern and emotional, two things we love him for, and manages some effective moments with Murphy, who is well on her way to stardom. Janssen is, as always, a joy to watch onscreen, and Sean Bean, as the standard villain, is more or less conniving without being truly menacing.
Once things get moving, there are some plot twists and developments that contain the element of surprise, while others are foreseen minutes before they occur. But "Don't Say A Word" is a thriller that plays by the rules, and on that basis, it's entertaining without concerning itself with fresh tactics.