The Cry of the Owl

Saw this movie on TV the other day and was really impressed with it. I'm becoming a Paddy Considine fan after seeing some of his other movies and I was not let down by his performance in this. He portrays Robert Forster, a quiet and melancholy man sneaking a peek (quite literally) into a world in which he sees some peace, happiness and a lil escape from his otherwise tortured existence. Julia Stiles, which I had seen but was more familiar with her teen movie career was very surprising. Not only because I hadn't seen her in anything for a while but seeing her in something like this was not what I had expected. Her performance was great and had me convinced that she was in fact as mysterious (and possibly unbalanced) as Forster. This film was well directed, well acted and had a pace that had me interested and wondering what was going to happen next. It had the feel of a Hitchcock film and is a top notch thriller in my book. Some may not have the patience for a film like this because it's not riddled with action or CGI but there's a good story in there, and I'll take a movie with a story to tell any day.

"The Cry of the Owl" is a 2009 Canadian psychological-drama with thriller elements based on the Patricia Highsmith novel. The story revolves around Robert Forrester (Paddy Considine) who has a great job, but is in the process of a divorce and has recently moved out of the big city. He becomes intrigued by a random girl he spots at a country house and secretly gazes at her from the woods at night. A relationship eventually develops and the girl, Jenny (Julia Stiles), starts overly-monitoring him and he begins to regret the relationship. Meanwhile, Jenny's ex (James Gilbert) isn't happy about the situation and neither is Robert's ex (Caroline Dhavernas). The situation soon spirals out of control.

The story is fairly engaging and the actors are effective, particularly Considine as the protagonist, but the ending is ambiguous and left to interpretation. Regardless, the themes are intriguing: romanticism vs. logic, fate and fatalism vs. chance encounter, omens and signs vs. random happenings and the irony of role reversal or reaping what you sow.

It's not great and it's too pessimistic -- probably because it's really a tragedy -- but it's a solid psycho-drama with intriguing ideas that'll leave you pondering or scratching your head. The latter is why many people don't like it.

The film runs 100 minutes and was shot in Ontario.

GRADE: B

Coming from the viewpoint of a person who had neither heard of this movie or known of the novel, I was pleasantly surprised. The story in itself was cleverly presented by exceptional acting. This is not a Hollywood blockbuster by any means but was effective. The music and cinematography were nothing special but still feel like this complimented a compelling story. After watching I do feel like there were a few psychological undertones to this film that leave you with an uneasy feeling while watching. All of the characters were highly developed and nearing the end you will understand what I mean. For a movie many have never heard of, I would recommend it without a doubt.

Withholding in the best sense of the word.

I started watching this movie laying in bed and by the time I was nearing the end all my blankets were twisted one way or another. And I admit, I did not even know this was from the guy who did The Talented Mr. Ripley, which I would probably have given a 6.5/7 after seeing in theaters.

This was an incredibly refreshing approach to a thriller. The settings subdued and passive, set up from the opening scene. The score was never Hitchcock, in that notion of action/suspense/surprise follows ominous cords. The cast all held something back that I couldn't quite place my finger on but by the time the credits rolled, wow... what a job they did.

The only thing I would say to those reading this-- If you like your standard Hollywood movies go ahead and pass on this (nothing is spoon fed). But if you enjoy those parts of a good novel that compel you to keep reading, then this movie will surely please.

I know the review is a bit vague, but watch this movie... If my words mislead you then feel free to come back and thumbs down me 2x.

I was drawn into this film by the uneasy feeling that the central characters were being drawn into a slow-sucking situational quicksand, an experience that for most of us only happens in nightmares.

If you prefer snappy pace and predictability in your films, move on. As the other reviews indicate, you either really like this film, or really dislike it for any number of reasons. At times I wanted to grab the "hero" by the shoulders and give him a shake to snap him out of his apparent lassitude. At that point I realized the movie was working for me, I was invested emotionally. Casting stays refreshingly clear of stereotypes with not a "pretty boy" in sight, and direction, performances and technical credits are mostly right on the mark.

This picture would have done so much better at the box office if it had let the potential audience know that Patricia Highsmith was the author of Hitchcock's "Strangers on a Train." For those of us not familiar with Highsmith's work, the title "The Cry of the Owl" is just too far removed from the essence of this film to be a draw.

So when you have the opportunity to see this film, relax, put your feet up and watch the first ten or so minutes. If you fall asleep, or find your mind turning towards undone kitchen tasks, then get back to "Jersey Shore" or whatever else gives your entertainment rush. If this film passes the ten-minute endurance test, you'll find it evolves into 100 minutes of compelling entertainment, destined to linger in the dark crannies of your mind for longer than you might expect.