Restraint - Wenn die Angst zur Falle wird

Fabulous-looking movie. Cinematographer Simon Duggan obviously has a soft spot for the slow, back-lit dance of smoke, dust, dirt, and fog. What he does with airy nothing and a little light would grace any big-budget movie and does wonders to set the mood for this elegant character drama: the way the helicopter's searchlight filters through the trees at night, the trail of gravel left by a speeding vintage Mercedes, the morning fog lifting in slow motion, and endless curls of cigarette smoke gracefully set the pace for most scenes. Without making a big fuss about it, director David Denneen has created a small world that feels old school and fresh at the same time. But "Restraint" is not only an elegant, but also a sexy movie, mostly thanks to newcomer Teresa Palmer. She plays Dale, a quick-witted girl torn between her murderous lover and his handsome hostage, as well as between her low-life self and the assumed identity of the hostage's fiancée. Strange as it may sound, there's real class in the way she parades naked in front of a guy duct-taped to the bathtub faucet. The plot requires the occasional leap of faith and doesn't get any more plausible as it unfolds, but the suspense rarely subsides and the ending is a gem. Make sure you see this on a big screen.

The smalltime criminal Ron (Travis Fimmel) has killed the boss of his girlfriend and striper Dale (Teresa Palmer) and they are escaping from the police. After killing a gas station attendant, Ron drives to the old manor of the agoraphobic Andrew (Stephen Moyer) in the middle of nowhere to swap the runaway car. When he notes that Andrew is a wealthy man, Ron decides to get money from Andrew to travel to Thailand. Andrew notes the resemblance of Dale with his fiancée Gabrielle that left him six months ago and proposes Dale to die her hair and go to the bank with two checks of US$ 20,000.00 pretending that she is Gabrielle. Along the days, Dale saves Andrew from the sadistic Ron, but the unstable killer is a jealous man and does not intend to leave Andrew alive.

"Restraint" is a claustrophobic and dark low-budget movie and my remark is that it is too long. The cinematography is very beautiful and Stephen Moyer, the vampire Bill Compton from "True Blood", and Travis Fimmel have fine performances, but the hot Teresa Palmer steals the movie with her amoral character. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Aprisionados" ("Imprisoned")

This is a good film typified by excellent acting, three interesting characters, a dark ambiance and a twist in the tale.

While there are the usual moans about the typical movie style plot extension - where no-one is ever killed outright, they have to make a meal out of it- it is superior to most modern films in that it relies on the story and acting rather than explosions, explicit violence or other shock tactics.

I had ever seen any of the three stars before but all three are names to watch.

Well worth watching!

The film starts as it means to go on, straight into the story with very little character background and very little messing around, the pacing is carefully measured and it moves along perfectly

The lead male(reminds me of Brad Pitt) is excellent in the role, as are all the characters actually, and considering its mainly the same 3 people on screen the whole time in a small space it is done very well

The plot centres around a young couple who are on the run, they take the owner of an estate hostage and then a psychological battle begins

Never saw any of these actors before but would look forward to seeing them again!really enjoyed the flick the only issue i had was i thought the very end was a little weak, overall a very good watch and i highly recommend it as a film that you probably wont hear much about but it is excellent all the same

Ron and Dale are a pair of early 20s lovebirds. Neither are especially smart – Dale at least has the partially redeeming feature of being incredibly hot.

Actually Time Out. As amateurish as it is I wouldn't be doing my job as a guy if I didn't point out that as well as being hot she also manages to indulge on a couple of occasions by being nude.

Guy Public Service Announcement over. Back to the review.

Circumstances have conspired against Dale and on and they are on the run. With the cops on the trail and the media highlighting their flight to freedom they take cover in what they think is an abandoned home, only the home is actually owned and occupied by Andrew, a timid British man with agoraphobia who can't stand the great outdoors. Which begs the question – why Australia Andrew? Andrew's only friend is a bird and it appears that his fiancé has done the runner on him, leaving him alone.

Ron immediately takes Andrew hostage and the duo tease and bully him around to fill in time and find out if there are any valuables to take – Ron with his fists, Dale with her smokin' bod. As the external search continues Ron and Dale come up with a way to make some quick cash from Andrew due to Dale's apparent similarity to his fiancé, as they decide they will flee the country they desperately need cash and hatch a plan to get their mitts on his substantial cash reserve in the local bank over the coming days.

But that still means waiting and lying low, and being in close proximity for so long and more importantly reliant on each other to some degree creates a somewhat uneasy alliance. Both Dale and Ron seem to have come from far rougher backgrounds than Andrew's privileged upbringing, Dale quite enjoys the charade playing someone else for a time, and particularly enjoys the dress-ups that go along with their plan. It is clear to all that Andrew treats Dale far better than the rough and abrasive Ron despite the fact she is one of his captors.

It is also clear that Ron is nuts.

As time goes on the tension (of all kinds) builds between the three. As Andrew grows a little more confident – or desperate – he starts needling Ron and suggesting to Dale that she doesn't need to be a part of all this, Ron is himself needy for all forms of attention and devotion and often bullies Andrew to big note himself to Dale and to subjugate Andrew back to his low spot on the totem pole.

Of course this all can't end well, but when the inevitable does happen it seems well earned and worth the trip. I had never heard of this film until I watched The Sorcerer's Apprentice and had to IMDb the name of the love interest, when I saw this film on her CV I had a quick squiz at the few reviews available and decided to track it down.

Now that I have seen it I urge others to do the same. This is nothing like the cheesy exploitative "I know what you did last Summer" DVD cover would suggest, it is a high quality taut thriller, featuring solid performances and a pretty good plot.

And yes the chick is still unbelievably hot.

Final Rating – 7.5 / 10. A great little Aussie thriller, worthy of far more attention than it obviously received.