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Plot Summary
Will Jennings’ wife Cheryl and
daughter Abby wave him off as he heads for an important medical
conference. Will (Stuart Townsend) is a wealthy, respected Doctor. He
worries about his daughter, Abby, who has chronic asthma and promises to
get back as soon as he can. Cheryl (Charlize Theron) and Abby return to
their luxury house where Abby is snatched. One of the kidnappers, Joe
(Kevin Bacon), stays in the house with Cheryl and tells her that she will
get her daughter back in 24hrs if she does exactly what he says. He's done
it before and all the parents got their kids back. But his plans are
flawed. Abby has chronic asthma and Cheryl isn’t like the other moms…
Review
This thriller starts off well,
gets a little silly and then gets a lot silly! It’s every parent’s
worse nightmare and the film starts off full of tension and emotion.
Cheryl’s fear and panic are real. She has a dilemma; does she trust the
kidnappers or does she try to raise the alarm. Either choice could mean
the death of her daughter.
As the story unfolds it gets
more implausible and things don’t add up. It transpires that money
isn’t the only motive for the kidnapping but it would have made more
sense if it where. Towards the end of the movie the tension and suspense are
lost when some very unlikely action scenes come into play.
Much of the movie shows Cheryl
and Joe in the house. He holds her hostage while one of his accomplices
keeps Abby. The scenes with Charlize Theron and Kevin Bacon in the house,
just after the kidnapping, are the best. She looks distraught while he
looks dangerous and a little mad! The atmosphere is tense. If anything was
going to save this movie it would have been their performances.
Stuart Townsend loses out when
his character gets involved in some of the more silly scenes with Courtney
Love who plays the flaky wife of Joe the kidnapper.
The Bottom Line:
A suspense thriller that starts off well but loses its way and ends up
with too much nonsense to ignore.
Reviewed by Niall Quinn,
Premier Movie Reviews 2003
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