Who's In It?

Michael Douglas is Dr. Nathan Conrad, Brittany Murphy as Elisabeth Burrows, Famke Janssen is Aggie Conrad, with Oliver Platt.  

Who Made It?

Gary Fleder

Where's The Web site?
No web site currently available

What's It About?

Dr. Nathan Conrad (Douglas) is a psychiatrist that just wants to get home for the Thanksgiving holiday.  It seems he always works late, but this time he has called his wife and told her he is on the way home and will even stop to pick things up.  But on this night before the big day, he gets a last minute urgent page from his friend Dr. Jerald Sachs (Platt).  He is brought in to take a look at the new patient Elisabeth Burrows (Murphy) that Sachs just can't reach.

After a quick visit with Burrows, Dr. Conrad figures that it will take some intensive treatment to reach her.  Thanksgiving morning rolls around and Dr. Burrows realizes that his daughter has been kidnapped.  The kidnappers came into his home and took his little girl.  All they want is a number and life can return to normal for Dr. Conrad and his family.  The catch is, the number is inside the mind of Elisabeth.  Dr. Conrad must now spend his Thanksgiving trying to get the number out of her head, or face losing his daughter.  Will he succeed, or will his family get torn even further apart?  You'll have to see this film to get that answered, but please...Don't Say A Word.

Common Guy's Thoughts

Don't Say A Word is racing from the get go.  We are greeted with a heist that happened 10 years ago that didn't go quite the way things had planned.  We move into a "mild mannered" psychiatrist who just wants to spend Thanksgiving with his family.  And finish with a wild race against the clock to get the answer to the one question that will bring a family back together.

The pace of the film is very nice, even if things get a bit disjointed from time to time.  One thing that holds the film back a bit is the fact that things do seem a bit strange from time to time in the way the film jumps back and forth without any rhyme or reason.  I wish the film would have spent a little bit of time explaining more of the characters to show their value to the plot.  Jennifer Esposito plays Detective Sandra Cassidy and we are just introduced to her without much explanation behind her character at all.  Famke Janssen is virtually wasted in a small part as Douglas' wife Aggie.

But the major part of this film is Michael Douglas and race against time to get his family back together.  His ability to get Brittany Murphy's character Elisabeth to open up to him is all that matters.  Douglas is very competent in the role, but we didn't expect anything less out of the acclaimed actor.  He is flanked by Murphy, whose role is very strong as the pseudo-psychotic Burrows.  Some of the lines she deliver just send chills down my spine even in the television and radio advertising for the film today.

Overall, Don't Say A Word may be slightly thin on the way the story is played out on the screen, but it's deficiencies are made up for with the fantastic performance of Murphy and the very steady turn by Douglas.  This film will have to gain its popularity by word of mouth, so if you like it tell your friends.  If you as the viewer Don't Say A Word about this film, you won't be doing it justice.

Grade

B-

Parents Guide

Rated R for violence, including some gruesome images, and language.  This is a film that is not for the faint of heart, especially in light of the events of the past month.  This film deals with some ruthless kidnappers who have very little regard for life and this shows through.  The language can get quite raw from time to time and the images are not pleasant as people get killed and a bomb blows up during the initial heist.  This is really an adult film and parental discretion is advised.
 

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