R, 1 hr. 36 min. Directed by: Mathieu Kassovitz. Release Date: November 21, 2003. DVD Release Date: March 23, 2004.
In what Bizzaroland would a woman that looks like Halle Berry marry a man that looks like Charles Dutton? The man's a great actor (and has a too-short appearance in this movie), but it was like I'd tripped and fallen down the rabbit hole... or found myself back in Texas. In what crazed legal system would a psychiatrist get accused of murdering her husband and then end up as a guest of the state in the same psych ward where they both used to work? And finally, what the hell was the ghost supposed to do? Speaking as someone who has a degree in communications, someone needed to un-muddle that channel.
What saves this from being a total waste of space is the performance quality that the cast brings to the table. I don't mean the vague ghost, or some of the smaller parts, but the Halle Berry-Penelope Cruz-Robert Downey Jr combination of actors came together pretty well. Berry in particular, I think, does a remarkable job with the part that she was given. If she wasn't running around complaining about "the studio" for "making" her do this part, then she probably missed her shot.
As a horror film, this is a total failure, although there are a few good scares. The scene where an unseen person breathes on the glass of Halle's cell and uses an invisible finger to write out NOT ALONE was remarkably creepy. The ghost affects were similar to those seen in Thirteen Ghosts and netted the same occasional jumps in reaction to stuff appearing and reaching out for someone on screen. This is better as a thriller, but I would have preferred to have more back story on the criminal activity that's going on behind the scenes throughout the movie.
This is worth seeing once. The first time I saw this, I thought it was pretty good, but I've watched it repeatedly over the years and each time I feel a little less satisfied with what's going on.
