Locked in Silence

It is a shame this is based on a true story. I bet the real story would be so much more interesting. I felt no symapthy for anyone in this movie, except a little bit of concern for the boy. There was very little sensitivity throughout the entire movie. I was shocked at the approaches everyone took toward an obviously traumatized boy. It ocurred to no one that finding a young boy murdered might damage the kid? And that they tried to reteach him how to talk, as if he never knew how, instead of finding the root of his distress! Thrusting him into environments where he was subject to taunting and torture, without a voice to fight back, apalled me. And that everyone seemed to blame the troubled child without concern for his obvious distress. I bet the story could have been told better. I hope the real story hasn't been tarnished because of an inadequate portrayal of it in a TV movie.

The story is unique enough to warrant making a movie. However, this movie moved way too slow to hold a viewer's attention for very long. I wish this movie had been better because the story line is a very compelling one. Children respond to tragic events in many different ways. This movie does show that. This movie was frustrating because of the slow moving story. I watched it to the end because I really wanted to learn what happened. I won't sit through it again though. A good movie producer could make this story into a very riveting movie. Maybe there is a book on this true story. If there is,I highly suggest reading it. This story deserves to be told well.

Sensitive, moving, great acting! I normally do not like movies about kids --- but this was much, much more. Dan Hedeya as the sensitive, patient, therapist helps Marc Donato regain his trauma-suppressed ability to speak. Hedeya, one of the most versatile actors around, from the evil prosecutor in Hurricane to the comic Nixon in Dick, is at his best. Donato, too, is superb – a male Shirley Temple (without – perhaps – the song and dance). All in all, this is a wonderful film – in the 50s, it would have been a first-run theater film.

I will try to be brief about this film because I can't imagine anyone will ever really watch it. The only reason I even rented soemthing like this is because the woman I am dating thought it looked good and she recommended it. She has excellent taste so I agreed. Oh boy were we in for a shock. She hated it even worse than I did and she ended up fast forwarding a lot of the dialogue in the film just so we could get to the big secret. The problem with the movie is that it took so long to set everything up that by the end you can't wait to find out what it is just so you can turn the movie off and watch Sportsdesk. The young boys problem becomes annoying. Sure, at the end we can empathize with him and all that he went through but that does not make the film a good one. Trauma is a weird thing and I guess it affects everyone in different ways but I just didn't buy into why the young kid became unable to talk. Hey, here's an idea; if you are threatened by the local sheriff that seems to do everything the wrong way, tell someone. His backward ass tactics would have gotten him busted long before this movie does.

When the film is boring and moves at a snails pace and you don't really like any of the characters in it, then you have a problem. Locked in Silence should have stayed that way. It never should have been given the green light. This is proof that not all true life stories need to be told and made into a film.

Absolutely terrible! 0 out of 10

Story about a young boy who is traumatized & decides not to speak after finding a murdered boy.

Actually, the movie is more about a dysfunctional family.

A nice movie, not too upsetting. It touches on several psychological problems of children..