Without a Trace

One of the best lines as Kate Nelligan portrays Susan Selky, a professor in NYC whose son has been abducted, and possibly murdered.

Nelligan is outstanding as a frustrated and angry mother whose son one day simply disappears after she sees him off on the school bus.

There are a few surprises here. Judd Hirsch is very good as Detective Minetti, although the story does go off tangent a bit with his family life. David Dukes portrays her estranged husband, who is initially suspected of abducting his own son.

Stockard Channing also has a small part as Selky's friend. When she attempts to talk Susan into the platitude : ..."picking up your bootstraps and move on"..., Susan (Nelligan) becomes enraged, telling her she cannot have a clue as to how this feels. A very powerful scene, and relevant to anyone who has experienced a horrible loss, and doesn't know how to cope.

Overall this is a good film with a few tangents, but well worth a view. 8/10.

WITHOUT A TRACE (1983) *** Kate Nelligan, Judd Hirsch, David Dukes, Stockard Channing, Daniel Bryan Corkill. Engrossing account of a small boy's disappearance and the horrors of his mother's unrelenting display of determinism in finding him dead or alive. Nelligan is exceptional running the gamut of emotions in this manipulative drama as is Hirsch as the dogged police detective equally disturbed by the crime. Based on Beth Gutcheon's book "Still Missing" (and adapted for the screen by her) and eerily resembling the NYC-based Etan Patz story.

"Without a Trace" is a very gripping drama. The kidnapping of a six year old boy from his New York City neighborhood sets into motion a prolonged search for suspects. Judd Hirsch is the frustrated detective following up leads that go nowhere, and Kate Nelligan is the distraught Mother looking for answers. As time goes on and hope fades, Hirsch is eventually resorting to psychics for help, while Nelligan refuses to lose any hope of finding her Son alive. Eventually, Nelligan's friends begin to worry that she is losing touch with reality, to little or no effect. If this film has any flaw, the ending must be considered, although possible, it just seems somewhat contrived. Nevertheless, "Without a Trace" is a very good movie, with knockout performances. - MERK

From screenwriter and original novelist Beth Gutcheon(novel entitled "Still Missing")comes "Without a Trace", which tells the story of a little six year old boy who leaves for school one morning and then completely disappears.

The film starts slowly but picks up the tension as it moves along. Producer and one-time director Stanley R. Jaffe tries to use quiet moments early in the film; but for me they did not work. Later, as the movie gets going, it becomes moving and thought provoking. A clever and touching finale, along with solid performances from the under-rated Kate Nelligan, the magnificent Judd Hirsch and David Dukes, make the film worthwhile.

Sunday, February 10, 1991 - Video

1983's WITHOUT A TRACE was my first exposure to the acting gifts of one Kate Nelligan. Nelligan dominates the screen as a soon to be single mom who sends her young son off to school one day and he disappears. The film makes all the predictable twists and turns you expect it to but the journey is worth it because of the gut-wrenching performance by Kate Nelligan in the lead. Credit must be given to skillful direction and a decent screenplay and strong supporting turns from Judd Hirsch as as a detective, David Dukes as Nelligan's self-absorbed ex, Stockard Channing as her insensitive best friend and Kathleen Widdoes as a psychic, it is the performance by Kate Nelligan that raises the bar on this one, who brings so much more to her performance than is in the script, rich, detailed, and worth studying.