"Micro Soft 'Word'"
by Scott Mantz

"Don't Say a Word"
Michael Douglas, Brittany Murphy
Directed by Gary Fleder

What are little girls made of? Brittany Murphy and Michael Douglas find out the hard way in "Don't Say a Word"

As the saying goes, looks can be deceiving.

Despite the fact that the summer of 2001 is one for the books as far as box office is concerned (with almost $3 billion in ticket sales), a closer look at the actual attendance reveals a slightly different story. Thanks to soaring ticket prices, the attendance for the summer of 2001 actually fell short of the record summer of 1999--when "The Sixth Sense" and "Star Wars: Episode I--The Phantom Menace" packed 'em in good.

Still, one has to wonder, is it possible that the decrease in attendance has anything to do with the ever-so-deteriorating quality of movies? Even though summer box office records were broken almost every weekend, huge second week drop-offs meant that moviegoers didn't like what they saw (and with overly-hyped disappointments like "Pearl Harbor" and "Planet of the Apes," who can blame them?) What's ironic is that when Hollywood finally did throw an intellectually stimulating movie into the mix (that would be "A.I. Artificial Intelligence," for those of you who missed it), it was so cerebral that it went over the heads of most of the moviegoing public.

Well, that's water under the bridge. With the summer finally over and the kids back in school, things are finally getting back to normal--especially in Hollywood. Just witness Michael Douglas, who--after a year of dabbling in artistic fare like "Wonder Boys" and "Traffic"--finds himself back in familiar territory with the psychological thriller "Don't Say a Word." Though the concept of casting Douglas as an upper-class everyman whose world is turned upside down brings to mind some of his past films--particularly "Fatal Attraction," "Disclosure," and "The Game"--that's where the similarities end. Despite a clever concept and moments of genuine suspense, "Don't Say a Word" suffers from an underdeveloped script and even more underdeveloped characters.

Douglas plays Dr. Nathan Conrad, a successful New York psychiatrist who has it all--a successful practice, a spacious Upper West Side apartment, a beautiful wife (Famke Janssen), and an adorable young daughter (Skye McCole Bartusiak). On Thanksgiving Day, his daughter is kidnapped by a ruthless thief (Sean Bean) who has spent the last 10 years looking for a priceless ruby. The key to finding that ruby lies with Elizabeth (Brittany Murphy), a highly disturbed mental patient who doctors have been unable to diagnose. Only Dr. Conrad can reach into Elizabeth's troubled mind to get the information he needs, but he only has a few hours to succeed, or he will never see his daughter again.

"Don't Say a Word" certainly has a lot going for it, which is what ultimately makes the end result so frustrating. Despite a suspenseful beginning that's marked by dark cinematography (reminiscent of David Fincher's work in "Seven"), the film is ultimately hampered by a lazy pace, huge plot holes, and ineffective character development. Other than Michael Douglas--who the film was obviously made for--there's hardly any insight into any of the characters, and as a result, it's hard to make an emotional connection to the film.

As expected, Douglas puts in a decent performance, but by now, he can do roles like this in his sleep. Though his character is more vulnerable than the ones he's played in the past, he handles his descent from domestic bliss to devastated obsession like a real pro. Despite being bedridden for most of the movie with a broken leg, Famke Janssen delivers a strong performance as a woman whose helplessness is accentuated by her handicap (think "Rear Window" in reverse). Kudos also to Brittany Murphy, who--in addition to 1999's "Girl, Interrupted"--finally breaks free of "Clueless"-type teen comedies to show her range as a dramatic actress.

Unfortunately, not everyone can overcome the shortcomings of the script. Though Sean Bean is effective enough as the film's menacing bad guy, it's a role he's done before--and better in "GoldenEye" and "Patriot Games." Furthermore, there just isn't enough of a motive to justify his ten year obsession to find the ruby. Actually, if anyone suffers the most, it's Jennifer Esposito, who plays the streetwise cop who's hot on the trail of the kidnappers. Not only is she simply not a strong enough screen presence, but her contrived appearance is more like a distraction than an addition.

Ransom movies have always been critical and commercial crowd-pleasers, with "Fargo," "Shanghai Noon," Mel Gibson's appropriately titled "Ransom," and--to a lesser extent--"Along Came a Spider" as recent examples of ones that worked. On those terms, the weak "Don't Say a Word" is surprisingly mute and can't be seen as anything other than another Hollywood disappointment.

Well, what do ya know? I guess things really are back to normal in Hollywood!

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