Don't Say a Word (2001)

Director:

Gary Fleder

Writers (WGA):

Andrew Klavan (novel)
Anthony Peckham (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

28 September 2001 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

...I'll never tell.

Plot:

When the daughter of a psychiatrist is kidnapped, he's horrified to discover that the abductors' demand is that he break through to a post traumatic stress disorder suffering young woman who knows a secret...

Plot Keywords:

Phone | Death | Cell Phone | Shoot | Post Traumatic Stress

Awards:

1 nomination

US TV Schedule:

Mon. Aug. 25	5:30 PM	FX
Mon. Aug. 25	11:00 PM	FX

Cast

Michael Douglas	...	Dr. Nathan R. Conrad
Sean Bean	...	Patrick Koster
Brittany Murphy	...	Elisabeth Burrows
Skye McCole Bartusiak	...	Jessie Conrad
Guy Torry	...	Dolen
Jennifer Esposito	...	Detective Sandra Cassidy
Shawn Doyle	...	Russel Maddox
Victor Argo	...	Sydney Simon
Conrad Goode	...	Max Dunlevy
Paul Schulze	...	Jake
Lance Reddick	...	Arnie
Famke Janssen	...	Aggie Conrad
Oliver Platt	...	Dr. Louis Sachs
Aidan Devine	...	Leon Edward Croft
Alex Campbell	...	Jonathan

MPAA:

Rated R for violence, including some gruesome images, and language.

Runtime:

113 min

Country:

USA | Australia

Language:

English | Italian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Malaysia:18SG (uncut version) | Singapore:NC-16 (DVD rating) | Philippines:PG-13 | Iceland:16 | Malaysia:U (cut version) | Portugal:M/12 | South Korea:15 | Australia:M (TV rating) | USA:R (certificate #38497) | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | Canada:14A | Finland:K-15 | France:-12 | Germany:16 | Hong Kong:IIB | Netherlands:12 | Norway:15 | Peru:14 | Singapore:PG (cut) | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | Greece:K-13

Filming Locations:

Disused lower platform, Bay subway station, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Company:

Regency Enterprises

Trivia:

The Canal Street subway station was actually filmed in Toronto's "Bay Lower" unused subway station. $150,000 was spent on set dressing alone. The TTC (Toronto Transit Commission) was so impressed with the New York conversion that they actually requested the set to be left up after filming was completed to attract future filming revenue. The set remained for about three weeks until TTC fire inspectors deemed the set a hazard (steel girders, signs and benches were plastic and wood), so the set was torn down and disposed of.

Goofs:

During the shootout at the end, puffs of smoke enhance the effect of bullets hitting victims. However, a puff of smoke comes from Detective Sandra Cassidy before she's shot by the villain, Patrick Koster.

Quotes:

Nathan Conrad: Rule number three: no more phone.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Saturday Night Live: Megan Mullally/Clay Aiken (#29.11)" (2004)

Soundtrack:

Dream a Little, Dream of Me

Decent Kidnap Story Worth One Look

Here's another interesting kidnap story. Sean Bean always plays a believable villain and Michael Douglas usually plays roles that keep the audience's attention....so the almost- two hours go by pretty quickly. The whole cast, actually, pretty good with no one person standing out.

The story loses points because the ending goes on too long and has the standard villain-holds-the-gun-and-doesn't shoot-too long cliché which drives critics, me included crazy. That, and a bit too many f-words in here by the female cop (Jennifer Esposito) which simply aren't necessary, and a few other holes all reduce this from a sure 9-star to an "8.....but don't misunderstand: it's worth a look.