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his film is directed by Atom Egoyan, not so famous for now, he however directed “Chloe” with Liam Neeson and Julianne Moore. The pitch: it deals with a 9 years old child, Cassandra, who disappeared from the back seat of her dad’s car while he was buying something at the grocery store. Tragic, you can imagine how guilty feels the dad. This role is very well performed by the young actor Alexia Fast, also seen in Jack Reacher (you haven’t seen it? leave it there…) You will probably see her soon thanks to her pretty face and her nice acting.
Her dad is played by Ryan Reynolds; the good looking guy in “The Proposal”, romance with Sandra Bullock, but most of all, the leading role in “Buried” of a guy buried alive with his cellphone. This time, dropping all the conventional acting, he is now a devastated father looking desperately for his daughter when his wife is putting the blame on him. Eight years after her disappearance, some clues emerge, is it possible she is still alive?
The director installs an oppressive ambiance. He plays with flashbacks and reality going back and forth, almost roughing you up, but you start liking the game.
You cannot resist from the plot and the rhythm. Clues come up, and you follow them step by step. At the end, you don’t leave unharmed, happy to talk further about it with you!
The characters are all very interesting. I have talked about the dad and his daughter, but you watch a bunch of different characters that you have to follow closely. First, the mother, Mireille Enos who is very touching and incredibly strong. The investigators Rosario Dawson, you all know her from Sin City, Death Proof, 25th Hour, MIIB and Scott Speedman, the kind of actor you are sure you’ve already saw but don’t know where. I think, even though it is nice to watch on screen, I was not very enthusiastic about his character…
As for Kevin Durand (seen in Robin Wood from Ridley Scott, Real Steel and Noah) he is playing the bad guy perfectly! You hate him at first glance. Morbid, manipulative, his smile will exasperate you so much.
In short, a must seen for its screenwriting & the actors’ performances . The movie is compared to Prisoners (excellent film by the way), another Canadian thriller. Truth is, it is hard to compare them, it apparently seems to be about the same topic but it is not. Prisoners is a great psychological thriller, where you doubt, you get lost between plausible tracks and finish with a big ending. Here, you quickly know what it is about, you like to think about a happy ending …….
Even if the movie is stressful it is not necessary dark. Moreover, there is not only one topic but two. I don’t want to tell more. One last thing, why know cool down with “Der Hölle Rache”?!?
Go watch it!
