| Don't Say a Word | | Cast : | Michael Douglas | | Director : | Gary Fleder | | Studio : | Fox Home Entertainme | | Format : | Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound | | Released Date : | September 28, 2001 | | DVD Released Date : | February 17, 2004 | | Language : | English (Dubbed), Spanish (Dubbed), English (Original Language), English (Subtitled) | | Audience Rating : | R (Restricted) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | August 01, 2005 | | Summary | I won't tell not even if you kill me. | Content
 | This movie starts off with a mental patent that tells her psychiatrist that she won't tell him any thing the psychiatrist feels that she pretty much lost her mind but doesn't give up on her when his daughter is kidnapped and he has no choice but to get out the information out of the mental patent but thats if he could , the movie is interesting but could have been better and the dvd has lots of stuff and is worth to see. |
| Rating | | | Date | June 17, 2005 | | Summary | Keep it quiet | Content
| He has a perfect life: Nathan Conrad is a successful NY psychiatrist with a beautiful wife, a sweet little girl and a comfortable life in the West Side.
But in the eve of thanksgiving everything changes when his daughter is kidnapped by a bunch of criminals that have only one demand: to get from one of his patients a number, which digits are the key to recover a 10 million diamond.
The problem is that the patient, Elisabeth, is almost catatonic and after experimenting a life full of traumas, refuses to reveal the coveted number.
The despair to get his daughter back takes Nathan and Elisabeth on a race against time.
Starring Michael Douglas and Brittany Murphy, this is a thriller whose plot figures itself out like a complicated puzzle. Full of tension, trepid rhythms that keeps us in anguish and makes you feel the emotional state of Conrad.
Still, you can overanalyze the plot, as too much scrutiny will leave in the open a lot of holes.
Douglas plays easily the role; always charismatic and with enough presence, he carries the movie giving his character enough complexity to make us care about his situation.
Brittany Murphy (Girl Interrupted, Clueless) is outstanding as the tormented Elisabeth, and it is her very empathic relationship with Conrad the key to sustain the plot.
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| Rating | | | Date | April 18, 2005 | | Summary | A question | Content
| I watched this movie a few years ago, tonight it is on network tv. I rarely watch movies especially in the last few years. I'm not under 13. Not even under 30. What I want to know is why people continue to watch movies that are indeed the same thing they have seen before with different actors? Is this culture of dinner and a movie gone so far that we cannot break it? These movies are terrible. The story, if they even have a story, is the 9845th time it has been done. Yet, we pay at the theater, we rent at home or we buy it so we can watch it 40 or 50 times. I would say in the last few years I have seen maybe 5 movies. Three of those 5 were animated that I took my son to and ended up loving as much as he did, Incredibles is our favorite. The LOTR movies were also enjoyable. It seems like as a whole we are more interested in seeing a movie that is something that could happen to us in real life. Not that any of us would probably be kidnapped but it's as if we enjoy seeing others suffer. Just like with tv shows, we want to watch people fail, American Idol, Fear Factor are examples. We really need to get a grip here. I refuse to let my son watch tv unless it's cartoons or something on TV Land. I'm not a Bible-thumper, not conservative and my job is as a singer in a heavy metal band so you can see that there is nothing that effects my judgment on these things, moral, none of that. I just cannot understand why the most realistic family on tv is The Simpsons. The most entertaining movie I have seen in years was the Incredibles and people want to see reality shows even though they live in reality. Entertainment should be used as an escape from reality, to relax not to be reminded of everything that is wrong with this world. Having said that, I can't recommend this movie because it does not entertain at all. |
| Rating | | | Date | April 12, 2005 | | Summary | Okay, I'll Tell | Content
| "Don't Say A Word" strikes me as the film equivalent of a novel by an author who `writes' a book every six months or a year. The books are usually similar and the characters have been changed slightly. They go through the same motions to get to the same conclusion. "Don't Say A Word" is like many thrillers churned out by the studios over the years. A normal, successful father/husband has to summon all of his will and strength to battle the bad guys for his wife/ daughter/ son. Astonishingly, you can predict every single `surprise' in "Word".
Dr. Nathan Conrad (Michael Douglas) is a successful psychiatrist racing home on Thanksgiving Eve. His wife (Famke Janssen) is laid up in bed with a broken leg thanks to her most recent skiing accident. Their daughter, Jessie (Skye McCole Bartusiak), likes to play hide and seek in the many closets in the Conrad's fabulous Manhattan loft. During the ride home, an old colleague, Dr. Jerald Sachs (Oliver Platt, phoning it in in a performance he has played at least five times already), summons him to the mental hospital to meet with a strange case. The strange case is Elisabeth Burrows (Brittany Murphy), an 18 year old girl who has received 20 different diagnoses over the last ten years. Conrad quickly determines that Elisabeth is faking her comatose state when she mutters "I'll Never Tell". Conrad speeds home to be with his wife and precocious daughter. She demands two kisses for his tardiness. The next morning, Conrad makes breakfast for his wife and starts looking for Jessie. After searching the entire apartment, he realizes that the chain on the front door was broken. At that moment, Patrick Koster (Sean Bean) calls and tells them that he has Jessie and will hold her until Conrad can get a 6 digit number out of Elisabeth's head. He has until 5:00.
Michael Douglas has played this type of role before. In films like "A Perfect Murder" and "Disclosure", he seems to be perfecting the role of father who becomes vigilante. I find that it stretches the credibility a bit to have these company executives/ psychiatrists/ successful suits suddenly shooting guns, driving recklessly, etc., as though they have been trained in guerilla warfare. To Douglas' credit, he makes the transition seem somewhat smooth. Some of the battles are fought with wits and this seems natural for his character.
Brittany Murphy is very good as Elisabeth. She manages to convey the clouded perception and creepiness the character has lived through for many years. About halfway through the film, she suddenly becomes an ally to Conrad, a shift that is painted in broad strokes straining credibility to the breaking point. Yes, I get that she feels that Conrad could become the father figure she craves, but this type of shift needs to be much more subtle.
Patrick Koster is a jewelery robber and that is about it. The villain, usually the most interesting character in a film like this, is simply a very determined robber. He doesn't even appear that psychotic. Bean, a very interesting British actor (you probably remember him best from "GoldenEye"), is given nothing to do. He merely grimaces throughout most of the picture as he hunts down the elusive prize he has sought for ten years. I would think that after ten years of obsessing over this, he would be a little off-kilter, a little unhinged, but this is not explored much to the detriment of the film and our experience watching it.
The one thing "Don't Say A Word" has going for it is a very defined visual style. All of the scenes of Douglas' character at home are rosy and warm. All of the scenes outside, on the mean streets of New York, are icy and blue. This shift also reflects Conrad's state as he leaves the comforts of home and ventures out into the city.
Gary Fleder, the director of "Word", also directed "Kiss The Girls", both based on the same type of literary pablum. Perhaps he has found his nitch. Next, he will direct an adaptation of the new Nicholas Sparks novel, followed by Daniel Baldacci's latest and then a chilling film based on Danielle Steele's latest book. What a canon of films to look forward to.
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| Rating | | | Date | March 26, 2005 | | Summary | Okay, for a Friday night flick. | Content
| 2.5 stars. 'Don't Say A Word', is OK if you are home on a Friday night with nothing to do or you want to be mildly entertained for two hrs. If not, you won't like this. It has no real surprises and the plot is that of the usual Hollywood fair. Mr. Douglas does a fine job. Mr. Platt is good, yet his character isn't involved through the whole film. His character just "dissapeares", midway. The villians are regrettably forgettable. Details to plot and character developement are important in a film; especially one like 'Don't Say A Word'. The acting, production and direction are fair. Overall, it's a good film. It may be better with popcorn and some tasty beverage. |
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