Reviewer's Rating 3 out of 5 Μύ
Don't Say a Word (2002)
15

There are few surprises in Gary Fleder's latest movie, but a smart script and great casting elevate a pedestrian premise to the status of satisfying thriller.

New York psychiatrist Dr Nathan Conrad (Douglas) finds himself involved in a race against time when his cutesy daughter (Bartusiak) is kidnapped. The ransom is a secret six-digit number trapped in the fragile mind of one of his patients. The good doctor must retrieve the number from catatonic teenager Elizabeth (Murphy) before end of play on Thanksgiving Day, or the moppet gets it.

We know the kidnapper is a nasty piece of work because he's played by English rent-a-baddie Sean Bean. We also know that mild-mannered Dr Conrad isn't likely to comply without a bit of a wig-out and a hugely enjoyable, nail-biting chase across Manhattan - because he's portrayed by the always excellent Douglas. And despite his recent prevalence in glossy photo magazines as Mr Zeta-Jones, no one does these ordinary-joe-turned-action-hero movies better.

Douglas' raspy-voiced authority convinces where the screenplay might not (Conrad diagnoses Elizabeth and manages to trigger her suppressed memory in, oooh, seconds), and he plays well against Murphy's affecting performance and Bean's panto audition. By the time he's involved in a cemetery showdown, you'll be shamelessly cheering him on.

A breakneck pace and stylish gloss from "Kiss the Girls" director Fleder adds tension and class, rushing through flashbacks and psychiatric mumbo-jumbo to cover up any plotholes or implausibility. Although it won't stand up to post-cinema pub deconstruction, this is a Saturday night treat which shouldn't test your brain power or patience.

End Credits

Director: Gary Fleder

Writer: Anthony Peckham, Patrick Smith Kelly

Stars: Michael Douglas, Brittany Murphy, Sean Bean, Famke Janssen, Oliver Platt, Skye McCole Bartusiak

Genre: Thriller, Crime

Length: 113 minutes

Original: 22 February 2002

Cinema: 22 February 2002

Country: USA

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