Don’t Say a Word 4/10

Don’t Say a Word (R) 2001
Reviewer’s Tilt (7)
Action-113min
Special DVD Features worth a look-Actor Commentaries

If you had never seen any other suspense film, you might find Don’t Say a Word entertaining, not great, but entertaining. If you have seen at least one other suspense film, save yourself the four bucks. You have seen it before, albeit likely in the context of a much more plausible storyline. The plot here revolves around a gang of ruthless jewel thieves, bent on reclaiming their missing booty. Compounding the problem is that only a catatonic mental patient (Brittany Murphy) knows the whereabouts of the cache. The baddies hatch a plot to kidnap the daughter of the catatonic’s mild-mannered psychiatrist (Michael Douglas), to force him to draw the information out of his patient. There is a lot of action and some nice acting, but the film is crippled by a series of implausible contrivances segueing the ridiculous plot twists. As just one example there is a 98.5% probability that the random number the crooks seek would not have worked with the plot twist that leads them astray. Such unbelievable devices, hackneyed bits and plot flaws all converge toward a ridiculously contrived and ultimately unsatisfying finale.

Much like Director Gary Fleder’s earlier effort, Things To Do In Denver When You Are Dead, Don’t Say a Word ends up as nothing more than so much unrealized potential. The plot is an amalgam of dozens of other movies, so many in fact, that identifying them all would supplant this review. Lifting so much, so poorly, from so many other great films, leaves this film without its own identity. Rent one of the template Hitchcock movies instead. You will be glad you did.
Format: Color, Widescreen Anamorphic, Closed captioned.
Sound: (DTS 5.1 Surround), (Dolby Digital 5.1), Spanish (Dolby Digital 5.1)
Extras: Director interview and commentary, Commentaries by Michael Douglas, Sean Bean, Brittany Murphy, Famke Janssen and Oliver Platt, storyboards, production workshop, screen test, making-of featurette, cast and crew info, trailer.