TROUBLED WATERS (director: John Stead; screenwriter: David Robbeson; cinematographer: Brett Van Dyke; editor: Tad Seaborn; music: Nick Dyer/Eric Cadesky; cast: Jennifer Beals (Special Agent Jennifer Beck), David Storch (Mike Waters), Jonathan Goad (Special Agent Andy Hunter), Stuart Hughes (Ben Tomlinson), Shaunia Black (Julia Waters), Sharon Lewis (Agent Tina Davis), Olivia Ballantyne (Megan Waters); Runtime: 88; MPAA Rating: R; producer: Harvey Glazer/Robert Wilson/Patrick Cameron; TW Films; 2006-Canada)
“There’s little about the thriller that’s remarkable.”
Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz
Theater and fight filmmaker John Stead(“Cyborg Soldier“) directs this low-budget, so-so crime story about the search for a missing child. The screenplay, filled with plot holes, is by first-time screenwriter David Robbeson. The film is told through a flashback, after the opening scene shows the FBI raiding a suburban house where two are dead inside the house.
The headache suffering Special Agent Jennifer Beck (Jennifer Beals) and her FBI agent partnerAndy Hunt (Jonathan Goad), are assigned to the case of a wealthy couple’s missing daughter, Megan Waters (Olivia Ballantyne). The firm of her dad, Mike Waters (David Storch), is set to go public and he should become extremely wealthy as a result.
Beck’s headaches bring on psychic visions when she touches objects. In one of her visions Beck becomes certain that Megan has been abducted. When the agents investigate, they discover that Mike’s business partner, Ben Tomlinson (Stuart Hughes), who has been having an affair with Mike’s wife Julia (Shaunia Black), is the abductor. We soon learn that Ben and Julia hired a hitman to kill Mike – but the contract killer decides instead to abduct Megan.
There’s little about the thriller that’s remarkable. Everything becomes predictable. It had a limited theater release and was seen mostly on cable TV. I enjoyed Beals’s performance, and therefore found it not that bad.
REVIEWED ON 2/22/2016 GRADE: C+
Dennis Schwartz: “Ozus’ World Movie Reviews”
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