Inclubabu Plot so thin, it passes unnoticed.

Cleveronix A different way of telling a story

SteinMo What a freaking movie. So many twists and turns. Absolutely intense from start to finish.

Aspen Orson There is definitely an excellent idea hidden in the background of the film. Unfortunately, it's difficult to find it.

Robert J. Maxwell Bridget Fonda is the sexually satisfied wife of handsome Hart Bochner. One afternoon she comes home, calls him "honey", and quietly fixes him a drink, only to find that he's sulking. Minutes go by while she compliantly puts up with his frowning silence. Suddenly, he bursts into a rage, accusing her of infidelity in the complete absence of any reason to do so, calls her the C word, slams her head against a cabinet, slaps her around, and winds up flinging her off the second-floor balcony, breaking her hand and a couple of ribs.She wakes up in the hospital where, it is revealed, she is deaf, although we notice that she reads lips perfectly. That avoids all the awkwardness associated with an ASL interpreter or having her squawk words in a simulacrum of language.All right. Let me just lay out the basic plot elements. This beautiful and devoted handicapped woman is beaten by her husband, misunderstood by her elderly mother, betrayed by her sister, has her bank account emptied by unknown hands, almost raped by a fat man who accosts her in a bar, is thought to have murdered her now missing husband, and is pursued by two cops (Kiefer Sutherland and Steven Weber), one of whom is interested only in justice while the other seems to dislike all women and is embarrassed by their presence. The end finds her standing alone at a deserted bus stop with a hand full of cash -- alone, tearful, but brave.Now, a pop quiz. There is only one multiple-choice question. "This story was written by: (a) a man or (b) a woman." Not to sound sexist. One could as easily pose a scenario about a decorated military hero and trained warrior who is captured by his enemies, betrayed by his organization, beaten and tortured, escapes to exact revenge, and winds up with the woman he loves, whom he thought he'd lost long ago.The direction is functional and conventional. When Fonda regains consciousness in a hospital bed, we see from her point of view the faces of the anxious doctors and nurses looking down at her -- that is, at the camera -- an echo of every scene in myriad second-rate movies in which the gurney is being hurriedly wheeled down the corridor and people wearing starched white coats and festooned with stethoscopes hover over the camera.Hart Bochner has played a number of evil people in an interesting way -- some of the characters are stupid ("Die Hard") and some are rather more than plain rude ("And The Sea Will Tell"). His virile handsomeness has a kind of evil tint to it. It would be too easy to cast him as a hero. Nice, intentionally bland performance by Steven Weber as the dumb cop -- maybe the best in the film.Bridget Fonda is interesting too. Her acting range is limited but it's on full display here. What makes her an object of interest is her almost stereotypical beauty. She's like a high school prom queen. Very feminine. Of course she can't help it if she slithers around or moves her hands so gracefully. Neither can she do anything about her nose. For most of its length it's perfectly normal and attractive but at its very tip there is a bump outward that follows the natural flare of her nostrils. The tip of that nose is full of intrigue.As for the movie -- Pfui.

Wulfe98 At every plot point, the story worked only if you assumed that the people involved were dumb. Sutherland and Fonda, two pretty decent actors, must have really needed the work at the time to put their names on this one.If for some reason choose to see the bow-wow anyway, I won't spoil it for you, but I'd strongly advise disconnecting your brain, as the plot inconsistencies might cause neural damage if you remain aware enough to start noting them.We signed this out of the library and didn't pay a cent for using it, and it was _still_ a waste of time.

guil fisher Not much director Paul Marcus could do with an inane story line and some of the worse acting jobs ever in a film. I continue to be amazed and amused at why Bridget Fonda continues to work in films. Is it the Fonda name that keeps her working? In this one she shows the gamut of emotions from 0-1. Deadpan expressions, lack of any acting style, I think she thinks being a deaf mute means a mute performance. Worst acting award continues to go to this no-talent actress. And right beside her is another inept actress, Penelope Ann Miller. Haven't seen her do anything interesting yet on film. Why does she continue to get cast? Kiefer Sutherland, whom I admire, gets nothing worthwhile in this flick. What a waste. He tries. And Steven Weber, whom I admired greatly in JEFFREY, gets dumped on in this one. Another waste of a good talent. However, I did like the work of Hart Bochner, whom I have never seen before. He gives an interesting performance as the abusive murderous husband. And I liked the dog, too!

carl-36 The basic story was pretty good, the acting, especially in the initial scene that sets the film up was realistic. In fact, Fonda's acting throughout was excellent even though the script made her dumber then a nail. You keep yelling at the screen, "Call the cops! Call the cops!" Of course, she doesn't.And the self-mutilation scene -- wouldn't this guy be in pain for days if not weeks? Drove me nuts.Keifer Sutherland often plays a real good bad guy -- but not this time. Now he's a cop who never met a donut he didn't like.Go ahead and rent this movie. Just keep a can of Spackle handy to plug up the holes in the story -- like who fed Duke the dog?