Our Rating: 2.50
Had it been made in the late ’80s, “Don’t Say a Word” would have provided decent (if instantly forgettable) neo-Hitchockian thrills. But OMD isn’t on the radio, Michael Douglas is now better suited to oddball older-dude roles (see “Wonder Boys”) and this entire strain of thriller has run out of contextual steam.
Douglas plays Dr. Nathan Conrad, a $200-per-hour Manhattan shrink; Famke Janssen is his wife, Aggie. One morning, anonymously British bad person Patrick Koster (Sean Bean) and his standard-issue, underclass scumbag crew kidnap Dr. Conrad’s kid, Jessie (Skye McCole Bartusiak). Patrick gives Conrad until 5 p.m. to finagle out of traumatized teen waif Elisabeth Burrows (Brittany Murphy) a secret code number that will lead the kidnapper to a gem worth $10 million. Or else.
Director Gary Fleder (“Kiss the Girls”) animates his contrivances with considerable pep, but the whole concept is a bit over-tired. Thankfully, Douglas resists revisiting his own ’80s and continues to refrain from revealing his buttocks.
This article appears in Sep 26 – Oct 2, 2001.