Big Driver

The lead actress in this movie gives a staggeringly superb performance.

She is a famous fiction writer who becomes the victim of a horrendous crime and decides to seek revenge.

The problem with this film is that it is presented in the screwball style(the story comes from Stephen King) which turns it into what the English call a 'black comedy' with imaginary characters and objects speaking out loud and the dead talking after their demise. Despite these challenges, the lead player still manages to make this a compelling view:

7/10.

It's not great but it's not bad. I rarely feel this ambiguous about a movie to be honest. It seems to be a revenge thriller with an odd light- hearted "Murder She Wrote" sensibility, which honestly makes no sense but results in something quite bemusing & unexpected. I really don't know what I think about this flick but I sort of enjoyed it. Some of the reviewers here giving it negative reviews are so incorrect in their comments I actually wonder if they even watched the movie. Certainly it's doubtful if they DID watch it that they actually paid it much attention. For example, there was no "dead relative" talking to her, that was clearly one of her novel's characters and the other women were part of the "knitting circle" from her books. The point was that she was having trouble separating reality from fantasy, but many have missed that point. There is a lot more to this story than some seem to think so if you are the kind of person who needs everything spelled out to you carefully and/or have the attention span of a flea then you won't like this flick. Others might like it tho. Worth giving a shot but don't expect too much. It just could have been done a whole lot better.

This has the creepy overtones of a Stephen King story and the movie does a very good job of delivering on the story.

On the surface we see a successful author of lightweight mysteries, visiting her fans, and enjoying their adulation.

Unbeknownst to the rest of the world, she has a childhood trauma that has given her some unique coping abilities that she has used to be successful.

When trauma hits once again, she copes because she has a genius ability to compartmentalize everything.

At times, I wondered if this was going to be a rehash of Misery or perhaps another take on The Burning Bed.

The movie successfully mixes the seriousness of a near death with lighthearted satire.

"I'll let the cops know but not tonight. All I know is if I see him again I'll kill him." Tess Thorne (Bello) is a famous mystery writer who is invited to speak to a group of fans. On her way back home she blows a tire. When someone stops to help her she is relieved but that turns to fear. After she is knocked out she wakes up to him raping and beating her then he leaves her for dead. She manages to escape and return home. Rather than calling the cops she decides to investigate on her own. She starts off on her quest for revenge. First thing I have to say is that this movie actually wasn't that bad at all...for a Lifetime movie. I wasn't sure how they could convert a Stephen King book into a Lifetime movie and I will admit that they did a pretty good job and Maria Bello does a pretty good job. Much like the Lizze Borden movie they did with Christina Ricci it wasn't that bad...but again...not that bad for a Lifetime movie. Overall, defiantly felt like a made for TV movie but I have seen worse. I give it a B-.

Watched the movie despite the reviews because of Steven King's writing it. Couldn't believe I'd seen the same move - it was a good exercise in psychology. To briefly over the story, a successful author is raped. She avoids telling anyone because she fears retribution, both professional and personal. She soon start hunting her assailant. Some of her behavior isn't helpful or rational. Many times you catch the 'heroine' hallucinating, so was she making it all up? Is she the real killer? The tension was well-done. The plot twists were credible and added to the suspense. So what were the detractors watching?? OK, it wasn't a big-budget movie, but it was certainly entertaining.