nicholas.rhodes Review of Vanished Without a Trace

Vanished Without a Trace (1999 TV Movie)

Disappointing start...........better towards the end !

[28 May 2004]

I just bought this on a cheapo DVD in France and was a little disappointed overall. Firstly, I guessed who the guilty party was very early on. Secondly, the first 49 minutes of the film are boring at times and the acting pretty hopeless. I was expecting something much more suspenseful, given the subject matter, along the lines of 'The Vanishing" with Sandra Bullock. The whole thing gets more lively from the 50th minute onwards but we are given little insight into why the killer acts in the way he/she does. Picture quality is excellent, that was at least to be expected since the film dates from 1999. A minor point, though it does count a little was that the actress who plays the mother didn't appear as someone very pleasant nor was she good-looking - for this reason it is difficult to sympathise with her ! With the disappearance for real of Estelle Mouzin in France over 3 years ago, the subject matter of the film is unfortunately all too real and had the acting been better this would have been a good film.