Persons Unknown

I'm a big fan of Kelly Lynch and in this little movie she did it again she can act.The story is good and the action is fast enough to keep you interest going.Joe Mantegna and an actress I never heard of Naomi Watts did a fairly good job.J.T Walsh os fantastic again.I'm going to miss him a lot he was a great actor.So movie fans if you got the chance to see this movie in a video store try it it's worth the rental fee.Enjoy

An above average script that only occasionally gets off track, and some truly intriguing actors, including Joe Mantegna, Jon Favreau, J.T. Walsh, Naomi Watts, and Kelly Lynch. The soundtrack is eerie and great. There is some welcome humor, and a budding romance. Rewatchablity seems likely and all this adds up to strong entertainment value. The only weak points are the villains, with the exception of J.T.Walsh, who come across as nothing more than cartoon-like characters. Strong character development and plot takes the place of the usual car chases and explosions. "Persons Unknown" is worth seeking out, especially if you are a fan of twisty plotted films like "Red Rock West" or "Clay Pigeons" - MERK

Although "Persons Unknown" is no classic, I must admit I just loved it. It's been a while since I was really emotionaly involved with a movie (not since my viewing 10 months ago of Alfred cheung's "On The Run"). The bad guys are a little to caricatural to my taste but the drama surounding the Joe Montagna character really moved me (what can I say, I am a sucker for "characters with a past"). The score, acting and photography are also flawless.

The plot of this film is rather weak, and too many of the supporting characters come across as cliches rather than real people. (If I never see another killer in a long, black raincoat on a hot day, I'll die a happy man).

But Naomi Watts and Joe Mantegna both beautifully transcend this material, in a wonderful, understated love story. The usual histrionics of a paralyzed woman in love are left out, and instead we get some genuine, gritty dialogue, and the sense that there are two real people reaching out to each other. She is no blushing, helpless cripple, and meets him head-on, as when she asks him if he's one of those men who're drawn to women in wheelchairs, or who only get turned on by women who can't feel sex. Both actors put their all into this scene, without overplaying it, and draw you right into their story.

The ending is adult, rather than trite, and avoids most of the usual cliches; unfortunately, not all.

I found this an absorbing movie, and highly recommend it for a snowbound afternoon.

I saw this movie back in '99 before I knew who Naomi Watts was, but after seeing it, I made sure to take note of her name in the credits.

One thing that I found interesting in this film was their un-cliched use of smoking. In most films, a person only smokes if there is some dramatic reason to due so (eg. To look seductive/sexy, or to show they are bad or "naughty"), but in this film the two sisters just... smoked, plain and simple, and they did so in a manner that made them come across as believable, everyday people. I think there was even a line in there somewhere where Joe's character asks about Naomi's smoking and she replies that her and her sister started when they were kids. A very real scenario, again adding to the characters' believability.

I don't smoke myself so I'm not an advocate of the habit, but everything that can be said about this film already has been said in prior comments and so this was simply something different that came to my attention.