Acorralada

This is the kind of story we have seen too many times.Even the "new" element -the victim needs medicines- has already been used.In "Verdict" (André Cayatte,1974),for instance, Sophia Loren abducted a judge's wife who was a diabetic .I felt sorry for Kevin Bacon ,a great great actor who is not always given the parts he deserves -as for instance in "mystic river"- All is finally too predictable and the film is handicapped by poor acting by Courtney Love (whose part is uninteresting anyway,it resembles those of Claire Trevor in films noirs).The best sequence remains for me the one when Bacon and Theron pretend they are lovers,the only really suspenseful moment.The doctor character is completely incredible:this frail young man suddenly doing aerobatics is too much !

The storyline of "Trapped" is broken down into three parts, which are set in three different locations (the house, the cabin in the woods, the hotel room). The first two work better, thanks to the smashing performances of Kevin Bacon and the perpetually underrated Charlize Theron, and the outstanding one by Pruitt Taylor Vince (I'm talking about the kind of performance that, in a higher-profile film, would surely have gotten him an Academy Award nomination). The third part is not as good, because Courtney Love is rather poor in her role and Stuart Townsend is too young and too bland for his. The film never succeeds at being anything more than a formulaic kidnapping thriller, but the director, Luis Mandoki, knows how to handle the formula and which buttons to push to keep it reasonably taut....until the overblown climax. (**1/2)

"Trapped", the top-of-the-heap video release for this week, tells of a a well to do couple whose daughter is kidnapped by a man who wants more than just money. What begins as a stylish thriller with good psychodramatic potential abandons the mind games at the half way point, trades nuances for sledge hammer blows, and disintegrates in a ball of Hollywoodish convoluted anything-for-the-thrill fire. Nonetheless, "Trapped" is probably worth a look for those who aren't too analytical and just want some no brainer excesses. (B-)

Rating: *** out of ****

One of the more pleasant surprises of the year, Trapped stars Kevin Bacon as a clever kidnapper who gets more than he bargained for when he and his partners (Courtney Love and Pruit Taylor Vance) hold a rich couple's (Charlize Theron and Stuart Townsend) daughter for ransom. Director Luis Mandoki knows how to pile on the tension to this chilling premise, delivering genuine suspense and thrills every minute without losing momentum. The story even holds a few decent surprises that caught me slightly off-guard, if not necessarily shocked.

As well-tuned as the direction was, what impressed me the most were the performances. The central story focuses on Theron and Bacon, and both make for one of the more effective protagonist/antagonist duos in recent memory. Dakota Fanning also shines as the kidnapped daughter; this is one of the best performances from a child actor all year (the other is from Fanning herself in the miniseries Taken). Stuart Townsend and Courtney Love aren't as effective as Theron and Bacon, but come through with solid performances.

Trapped is still a very flawed movie, considering the script is hardly original and the subject matter itself is a little unsavory and disturbing. The tit-for-tat matches between kidnapper and hostage can get a little repetitive, but the fact that it revolves around three pairings does add more tension to the proceedings. Still, the movie nicely builds to its thrilling conclusion, a climactic sequence that is a bit overdone but nonetheless exciting. It's a pity Trapped was ignored at the box office, since it's easily far superior to recent similarly plotted kidnapped thrillers such as Don't Say a Word or Along Came a Spider.

It's unfortunate that Columbia/Sony is not pushing this movie -- there's some convincing acting here (Theron does the woman-in-jeopardy thing well; doesn't hurt that she's easy on the eyes too!) and three different storylines interwoven by the writer quite nicely. Some good setups and payoffs as well (though one involving the waggling of a plane's wings is kinda corny, but it worked). My only criticism is that some of the dialogue is predictable (the bad guys says exactly what we expect him to say in certain scenes). Courtney Love plays a white trash wench pretty well, but that's not surprising given her vagabond background.

BOTTOMLINE: If you like thrillers, go see this on a matinee -- worth seeing on the big screen for some beautiful cinematography of the Pacific Northwest and the climax. IMHO a big step above ALONG CAME A SPIDER and HIGH CRIMES. I haven't seen Mandoki's other flicks, but I plan to rent them now. I just hope Charlize Theron chooses some more challenging dramatic roles, or her career will probably suffer for it.