Rating- * * * (3/5)
I am usually not a big fan of modern psychological thrillers because they usually are very bland. In any given year, 15 to 20 of these things will come out, do moderately well at the box office, and fade into obscurity. Most people can’t even remember what they were about a year after they’ve seen it. This one probably fits into that category. It stars Michael Douglas as a psychiatrist who is called upon to examine a young girl who is extremely disturbed. When Douglas decides that he’s done all he can do, he quits the case against much protest from his superiors. Soon afterwards his daughter is kidnapped and it soon becomes obvious that her kidnappers want some information that is known only by the disturbed former patient of Dr. Douglas. The crazy girl speaks only in riddles and symbols, making her that much freakier and making the task that much more difficult. It is a cleverly constructed idea but not all that fascinating or different. Call me picky but I just can’t settle for a dangerous situation that is eventually solved. I need some twists, some bizarre characters, maybe even a cheap gimmick to keep me interested in a psychological thriller and this one just do it for me. I will say, however, that it is well made and well acted. I’ll even say that the story is good for what it is but it’s just not ambitious enough to get my recommendation.