Tödliches Verlangen

Slow, poorly directed, stilted acting. I watched because several reviews said the twist at the end made up for the poor movie. I've now finished watching, and was the twist that there was no twist?

Don't waste your time. I should give it a one, but I have seen worse movies. It had something that made me kept watching, but perhaps that was simply the misleading reviews that had me waiting for something worth watching.

I watched to the end. I didn't give up half-way though. That is all I can say about this movie. It is about how a woman insidiously worms herself into another's life slowly. The acting is acceptable. The plot is quite standard. Cage is old and fat, but more importantly, his acting is mediocre. Yes, I will watch it once.

56 year old Gina and 54 year old Nick as new parents. Really? Are you kidding? This is getting silly. I understand the need to draw in eyeballs with known talent but come on. Gina's mother in law character is Faye Dunaway who's only 11 years older. There's only so much soft focus and cake makeup you slather on to cover that. And Nick? Shoe polish in your hair is not a good look. I get it, you owe like a zillion dollars and you have to work like a dog but why not look for parts for a guy your age.

Katie (Nicky Whelan) is a mother whom has recently escaped from an abusive relationship. Katie ends up befriending wealthy couple Angela (Gina Gershon) and Brian (Nicolas Cage) and stays in their guest house whilst serving as their nanny. Initially all is well, but the couple start to get suspicious of Katie when they start to learn that she's hiding a dark secret...

The set-up isn't a bad one and in some ways this film reminded me of 'The Hand That Rocks The Cradle', but despite an intriguing set-up the film doesn't contain much in the way of audience involvement. There is some mystery with Katie's character, but the film reveals too much too soon which ultimately kills much of the suspense. The main story also lacks credibility and requires a leap of faith to be able to accept what you're seeing is even remotely believable; a couple allowing a stranger to be their nanny without carrying out any kind of background checks first???

The tempo picks up slightly towards the end, but by this point I'd already lost interest in the story (mainly down to the drawn-out first half of the picture where next to nothing actually happens). I also wasn't impressed by Jonathan Baker's direction which was far too leisurely and I also wasn't impressed by the art-house pretentious feel that the film had as a whole.

The acting isn't too bad though with Whelan and Gershon both being the standout's here. Nic Cage is the big named actor here, but the filmmakers waste him here by just having him hanging round in the background (he's never sufficiently developed and isn't given the chance to make any kind of impression on the picture). The cynic in me thinks that he may have only been cast in the film as a gimmick to make the film appeal to a wider audience.

FINAL VERDICT; skip this one and watch The Hand That Rocks The Cradle instead.

I rarely write reviews but I feel obligated to give one because it was the reviews that I gave this movie a chance.

First of all, what twist? The plot was so obvious and predictable. I was not surprised whatsoever at any point of the movie. Second, the story was not realistic in my opinion. The characters behave in a stupid way most of the time which made it hard for me to associate with any of them. The husband is way too unsupportive and still portrayed to be a good one at the end.

So, in short, if you enjoy only very well written and directed, realistic movies with real twists, stay away from this one!