I saw this film premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2004 and was mortified to see that it was a blatant rip-off of the much smarter, more compelling, and superior film WAKING THE DEAD (based on the novel by Scott Spencer). Someone in the Q&A with the cast & crew afterward even addressed this issue stating that the film was very much like WAKING THE DEAD and asked the screenwriter if he was influenced by the film... I think that this threw him, never expecting to get caught red handed and confronted in a room of his peers - he stumbled and said "yes, it was an influence" - HE ADMITTED IT IN FRONT OF 500 PEOPLE!!! Aside from it's contrived tangentential subplot featuring Tim Blake Nelson, the only attempt made to hide the main storyline's plagiarism is by changing the gender of the main character and telling the story through the eyes of a woman. In the retelling, the lecherous screenwriter even rips-off (almost verbatim) one of the climactic character arc monologues. The movie (dare I even call it that) is an appalling example of contempt and disrespect for what is original in the world. Those responsibe (and you know who you are) should be ashamed! My sympathies go out to all those who spent their time and energy making this film, blind of the truth.
Review of Bereft
