Film

What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases


Don't Say a Word (2001)

Director: Gary Fleder

Average user rating
No reviews

Movie review

From Time Out Film Guide

Douglas is a dish best served cold. Irritation, contempt and fake bonhomie are the emotions that make his clownish face gripping. Tragically, as uptown psychiatrist Nathan Conrad in this noisy New York thriller, he's in cosy mode - the doting husband and father thrown into turmoil when a downtown colleague asks for help with a disturbed and apparently catatonic teen, Elizabeth (Murphy). What Nathan doesn't know is that jewel thieves, done out of their booty ten years before, also need Elizabeth to open up - she's got a vital number trapped inside her head. And when these Desperate Dans kidnap Nathan's daughter, he's forced to start picking the vulnerable girl's brain. Meanwhile, stroppy cop Sandra Cassidy (Esposito) knows there's something fishy here. Sandra is the film's only plausible presence and she's hardly in it. Far more time is spent with the dough-faced Murphy, usually excellent, but here caught in a 24-hour pout vortex and forced to sing Ophelia-like ditties. Janssen also gets too much exposure as Nathan's wife. As for Bean - the requisite British nasty - he makes Vinnie Jones look subtle. And Douglas? Well, he's the smug liberal to the last.

Author: CO'Su

Time Out Film Guide


What do you think?
Post your review now

clear rating
Min 1 star. Zero stars will be treated as unrated.

*mandatory fields




Most popular on this site


Top Stories

Has David Cronenberg turned tame?

Has David Cronenberg turned tame?

Has director David Cronenberg veered too far from his radical and bloody roots with new film 'A Dangerous Method'?

The 10 worst date movies

The 10 worst date movies

Just in time for Valentine's Day, we present ten of the least romantic films ever made

Where to watch this year's Oscar-nominated films

Where to watch this year's Oscar-nominated films

Find out where to watch 2012's Oscar-nominated films in London cinemas

10 unlikely badboy biopics

10 unlikely badboy biopics

Featuring Phil Collins, Jeremy Clarkson, Nick Clegg, David Starkey and a host of other unlikely subjects

Interview: Sean Durkin on 'Martha Marcy May Marlene'

Interview: Sean Durkin on 'Martha Marcy May Marlene'

The first-time director of the brilliant new thriller discusses religious cults and robot boxing

Pop-up cinema for Valentine's Day

Pop-up cinema for Valentine's Day

Side-step romantic clichés with some alternative Valentine’s viewing