"Don't Say A Word"
By Ted Pfeifer

I can't help but say good things about this film. Michael Douglas treads on all to familiar territory, but because he does it so well he makes it very enjoyable to watch.

Douglas stars as a big time New York psychiatrist Nathan Conrad who gets pulled in to help a colleague played by Oliver Platt. He is helping with a young woman named Elisabeth played brilliantly by Brittany Murphy. As he starts to help her, his own daughter is kidnapped and held for a different kind of ransom. He offers to pay money but the kidnappers led by former Bond bad guy Sean Bean, want a number inside of Elisabeth's head.

The film starts out with a robbery and director Gary Fleder uses fast cuts and camera movements along with a pulsating score to set up the picture and as soon as you get set for that kind of action picture it stops and becomes a tight thriller.

This movie reminded me of "The Game" which also starred Michael Douglas. "Don't Say A Word" has a creepy vibe that hits on a variety of levels and that is where this movie really succeeds. It not only plays as a cat and mouse thriller, but also has a little whodunit, with a dash of action and some very good supporting storylines.

Jennifer Esposito who delivers a Jennifer Lopez-ish performance plays a detective trying solve a case that becomes interwoven with the kidnapping. Oliver Platt, Sean Bean and Famke Janssen fill their roles quite well but the real stars are the leads. Douglas has done this type of role so many times before that it's like he just slips on a suit and plays the part and you believe every bit of it. Brittany Murphy on the other hand puts on many suits as she plays on one hand a crazy maniac and on the other hand a scared little girl.

The ending is the only place the film drops off, but not enough to ruin my time. I liked "Don't Say A Word" and you can't make me be quite about it.e