A smart script and great casting elevate a pedestrian premise to the status of satisfying thriller.
Don't Say a Word (2001)
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Reviews Counted:113
Fresh:26
Rotten:87
Average Rating:4.4/10
Consensus: Don't Say A Word is slick and competently made, but the movie is routine and stretches believability with many eye rolling moments.
Runtime: 2 hrs
Genre: Dramas
Synopsis: When psychiatrist Nathan Conrad discovers that his daughter has been kidnapped, the only way he can get her back is to pry critical information from the mind of a seriously disturbed teenager with... When psychiatrist Nathan Conrad discovers that his daughter has been kidnapped, the only way he can get her back is to pry critical information from the mind of a seriously disturbed teenager with a secret stuck deep in a blocked memory. The Conrads are the prototypical happy family: Nathan, a successful doctor (Michael Douglas); his loving wife, Aggie (Famke Janssen), who is bedridden with a broken leg suffered in a skiing accident; and eight-year-old Jessie (Skye McCole Bartusiak), an extemely intelligent and well-loved young girl. But late one night Jessie is abducted and used as collateral for a dangerous group of men who will stop at nothing to recover a stolen ten-million-dollar jewel. Gary Fleder (KISS THE GIRLS) has crafted an excellent thriller shot on the streets of New York City, getting help from a fine supporting cast, including Oliver Platt as one of Dr. Conrad's medical colleagues, Jennifer Esposito as a cop out to get to the bottom of a series of unexplained murders, and Sean Bean as a violent criminal who will kill anyone who gets in his way. But this is Douglas's movie, starring as a loving family man and dedicated doctor who has to compromise his ethics in order to save his daughter's life and free a teenager from a dangerous psychosis. [More]
Starring: Michael Douglas, Sean Bean, Brittany Murphy, Famke Janssen
Starring: Michael Douglas, Sean Bean, Brittany Murphy, Famke Janssen, Oliver Platt, Jennifer Esposito, Skye McCole Bartusiak
Director: Gary Fleder
Director: Gary Fleder
Screenwriter: Anthony Peckham, Patrick Smith Kelly
Producer: Arnon Milchan, Arnold Kopelson, Anne Kopelson
Composer: Mark Isham, Graeme Revell
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Reviews for Don't Say a Word
Just another generic suspense film destined to top the box office charts for one week before dropping into obscurity.
Little more than wasted potential – a would-be thriller that could have been great fun, but instead is as appealing as a plate of cinematic leftovers.
... the performances and the occasional plot twists manage to keep the audience awake and engaged.
The problem faced by Don't Say a Word is that it's hard to care about characters who make cardboard look complex and multifaceted.
Crisply-edited, well-acted and impressively stylish in fits and starts.
Latest News for Don't Say a Word
April 20, 2006:
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