...this by-the-numbers (no pun intended) psychological thrill ride is efficient and utterly soulless.
Don't Say a Word (2001)
Tomatometer
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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.
Rated: R [See Full Rating] for violence, including some gruesome images, and language
Runtime: 2 hrs
Genre: Dramas
Theatrical Release:Sep 28, 2001 Wide
Box Office: $54,218,420
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
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Reviews for Don't Say a Word
After Things To Do in Denver When You're Dead, Kiss the Girls and now Don't Say a Word, I am officially putting the name of director Gary Fleder on my list of filmmakers to avoid, if at all possible.
Notwithstanding the lame finale, the film isn't completely painful to watch and does have some decent moments.
Offers the slick-looking, non-demanding suspense that A Hollywood Thriller© promises.
Nothing more than one more run-of- the-mill, surprise-free, suspense programmer.
There are just enough twists to keep things from fully shifting to auto pilot.
As a thriller, Don't Say a Word definitely holds our interest, but when a resolution is as frustratingly weak as this one, it doesn't just disappoint; it tends to sour all that came before it.
The movie's narrative -- which covers 10 years and several initially unrelated characters -- is confusing at first, then just irritating.
Whenever I watch one of these crime stories, I find myself musing about whether it's as intelligent and involving as Law & Order, which I can see on TV for free. Don't Say a Word isn't.
Filled with plot holes and lacks the special oomph needed to elevate it beyond its B-movie status.
Don't Say a Word is a Michael Douglas movie that never stops feeling like a Michael Douglas movie, even when it ought to stop feeling like one.
Director Gary Fleder animates his contrivances with considerable pep, but the whole concept is a bit overtired.
The movie's dramatic course becomes an excuse for excesses of familiar and not particularly engrossing technique.
It's not without merit as a diversion, but it never takes you anywhere beyond the edge of your seat.
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