An indispensable element in all good mystery stories is the red herring. No, this kind of red herring is not some smelly fish, but something that distracts you so that you are thrown off the scent of the real killer. Brazilian director Heitor Dhalia and “Underworld: Awakening” scenarist Allison Burnett have appropriated those venerable red herrings and combined them with the storytelling device about the guy who cried wolf for “Gone,” a shallow, slow-burn serial killer thriller. The psychological saga grows out of a kidnap victim’s memory of the criminal who grabbed her and left her at the bottom of a “Silence of the Lambs” type hole where several other victims had perished. Miraculously, our hero manages to escape, but the Portland Police Department cannot find either the hole or the killer so they write her off as a lunatic.
It doesn’t help matters that Jill Conway (Amanda Seyfried) has spent time in a psycho ward. Predictably, the authorities aren’t amused when Jill shows up at the police department with news that her alcoholic sister Molly (Emily Wickersham) has gone missing. Since she cannot get the police to launch an investigation into her disappearance, Jill buys herself a revolver and starts questioning everybody who might know something. Eventually, she tracks down the guy who not only abducted his sister but also her, too. Meanwhile, the police are looking for her because she has brandished her gun. As it turns out, the killer rings her up on her cell phone and gives her directions deep into the woods where he is awaiting her return. Throwing caution to the wind, Jill follows his directions. You can figure out after about an hour of “Gone” elapses that Jill Conway may be crazy but crazy like a fox. This make the Portland Police look pretty bad after they send her packing.
Credibility is the key to everything that occurs in “Gone,” and you know that Jill is on the right trail when her missing sister still doesn’t show up. Everybody but one cop treats Jill as credible, but he vanishes from the action, prompts us to believe that he has something to do with the case. Meanwhile, the cops do their dead level best to find Jill. Of course, these incompetent cretins blow that objective, too. As Jill questions people who may have information about her sister, she lies about the circumstances surrounding the case. Mind you, Jill goes out on a flimsy limb with her plethora of lies.
“Gone” isn’t very good. The dialogue is as forgettable as the characters are one-dimensional. One of the Portland police detectives exits the film for a long stretch making himself look suspicious. Eventually, after Jill proves that she isn’t a lunatic, she dispenses vigilante justice. Occasionally, “Gone” recalls the Ashley Judd thriller “Kiss the Girls,” but neither Dhalia nor Burnett conjure up any surprises that make you catch your breath. The far-fetched ending and the incredible cell phone that our heroine can talk on for long lengths of time in the depths of the woods undermine this occasionally atmospheric nail-biter. The performances by Seyfried and solid cast are the film’s sole saving grace.
Fast Tube by Casper
ALL THINGS GOOD is a polished little film based on a true story that while it may not have the visual gruesome detail of the usual thriller tropes of films, it is terrifying in its presentation of personality variations that produce a shuddering reaction on a purely intellectual level for the audience. It is both a love story and a missing persons/murder mystery based on a still unsolved case that continues to haunt New York investigators and reporters and detectives.
Law and Order: Special Victims Unit is one of my favorite television shows, even though its gone a bit downhill lately. Is it the cast? No, because they are mostly intact. What is actually happening is that each of the main characters, known for their superb chemistry amongst each other, are suddenly spending less screen time with each other and more time to themselves. This story actually has a point. On Stranger Tides suffers the same fate: fantastic cast that don’t spend as much time with each other as we hope. Add some pointless plot lines, a calmer first-third of the flick, and you have yourself the fourth installment of Pirates of the Caribbean.
