Domestic Disturbance
Domestic Disturbance | ||
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Director: | Harold Becker | Actors: | John Travolta (as Frank Morrison), James Lashly (as Jason), Rebecca Tilney (as Laurie), Debra Mooney (as Theresa), Vince Vaughn (as Rick Barnes), Teri Polo (as Susan), Leland L. Jones (as Coach Mark), Matthew O'Leary (as Danny Morrison (as Matt O'Leary)), Ruben Santiago-Hudson (as Sgt. Edgar Stevens), Susan Floyd (as Diane), William Parry (II) (as Don Patterson), Suzanne Nystrom (as Wedding Coordinator), George Christy (as Wedding Photographer), Steve Buscemi (as Ray Coleman), David Bridgewater (as Priest) | Country: | USA | Category: | Thriller | Year: | 2001 |
| Description: | A divorced father discovers that his 12-year-old son's new stepfather is not what he made himself out to be. | Comments: | Judging by the trailers, I wasn't expecting much. And then I saw the PG-13 rating and my hopes were even lower. It seems to be a tradition in recent years to market PG-13 films. Even if it was originally going to be an R, they recut the film taking away a few "f" words" and scenes of nudity to give it the PG-13, because supposedly it'll reach a more widespread audience. It's obvious in this movie when in one scene Steve Buscemi says "Get the f**k out of here" and they dubbed it to have him say "Get the hell out of here." And there's a few other obvious attempts at a re-rating. All that aside, I was really impressed with this movie. First of all, it's good to see John Travolta as a good guy for a change. He's talented at playing the villain, but we don't want him to wear out that role. Even Christopher Walken does a comedy now and then. Vince Vaughn is convincingly fiendish as the new stepfather with a corrupt past lurking beneath his mild-mannered exterior. Steve Buscemi plays his partner-in-crime, doing what he does best. I was also very impressed with the boy, Matthew O'Leary. He delivers a intense, disciplined, subtle performance as a boy conflicted between his love for his father and his fear of what his stepfather will do to him. I'm lucky enough to have grown up with two parents, but I know lots of friends who grew up with stepparents, and the relationship between the boy his (real) father is very realistic. No matter what happened between their parents, kids always feel a greater attachment to their real parents than their stepparents. And you really feel captivated by the love between father and son. Though there are no astonishing plot twists, I was on the edge of my seat the whole time, never looking at my watch. So this isn't the derivative thriller I was expecting. There are only a few elements of the plot which I didn't feel made much sense: I don't think a middle-class boat builder is going to scoop up evidence on a known offender by simply logging onto the Internet while the cops have no clue who he is. And without giving anything away, I will leave all screenwriters and directors out there one thought: When you're in a fit of rage, you don't hit someone with a bat ONCE and run away, ASSUMING he's dead. First of all, if you really hate someone and he's threatening the lives of everyone around you, you're going to want to beat him until his brains spill out. Second of all, in the movies nobody dies after one strike of a bat. "Domestic Disturbance" nicely combines elements of human drama with psychotic thriller. It's an edge-of-your-seat thrill ride that will probably hit home to some. With "Monsters Inc." out this weekend this movie doesn't stand much of a chance, but don't be fooled. It's really worth checking out! My score: 7 (out of 10) |
Languages: | English | Subtitles: | Length: | 89 | Video format: | DivX 3.11 Low Motion | Audio format: | MPEG Layer 3 (MP3) | Resolution: | 640x272 | Files sizes: | 702 |