Troubles

Late one night, I found myself working late in my college apartment, studying or trying to study for Spanish and it just so happened that I also had the TV on (which I wasn't really paying much attention to) when I just happened to look up and see that a new movie was starting called "Shattered". Seeing that it was directed by Wolfgang Petersen, I became a little curious but didn't really plan on watching it. Well, that thought went out the window when the movie opened with a bang. Husband and wife Dan and Judith are involved in a devastating car crash. But despite all odds, both survive; however the husband (played by Tom Berenger) is in critical condition and is left with no memory of who he is or what happened. His seemly loving wife (Greta Scacchi) does everything she can to help him readjust after getting out of the hospital but, alas, something just doesn't seem right. He slowly begins to realize that everything may not have been as rosy as his wife would have him believe and things get even more interesting when he learns that he paid for services by a street wise private detective named Gus (played by Bob Hoskins).

"Shattered" is one of those unassuming movies that, going in, you're not expecting to find anything too shocking or surprising and that's where you'd be wrong. I've seen a lot of thrillers and mysteries, so much so that eight out ten times, I can probably tell you what the ending will be. However, I got to tell you, the twist at the end of this movie is so well done and so shocking that I didn't see it coming for a million miles, and believe me, that's saying something. The movie also does a good job drawing you, the viewer, deeper and deeper into the movie without even realizing it with the direction of Petersen, the story, and the actors; Tom Berenger does an excellent job in his role, as does Greta Scacchi. However, my favorite actor out of this is probably Bob Hoskins, since he's able to provide a little bit of comedy and heart to his role. If you're one who's looking for a lost gem of a film or is just looking for a good surprise at the end, then I highly, highly recommend "Shattered". You won't regret it!

This movie has got to be the best surprise I've ever gotten from a last second pick at the video store. The first time I saw this movie was in college, we watched it one night and it continued to be shown in our apartment almost non-stop for the next 4 days. People could not get enough of it.

I won't go into the plot, etc. but will tell you it offers many twists and turns and will keep you interested and surprised at the end.

You cannot go wrong renting this movie!

Wolfgang Petersen (Poseidon & the Neverending Story)'s Neo Noir starring Tom Berenger, Bob Hoskins, and Greta Scacchi about a West Coast developer who has amnesia after a car accident and begins to suspect his wife of treachery.

This begins in a pretty mundane way. It runs like any one of thousands of films of the early 1990's, and there doesn't appear to be anything special about it until you get a little bit of the way into it. Roughly one third through, you begin to see the subtle idiosyncrasies of this work, and soon, you are wholly absorbed.

This features some great intrigues, a nice well paced plot, and a really twisty ending. Dialog delivery isn't as bad as you might expect, and the story itself steals the show. Camera angles are a bit odd at times, but nothing like some of those 1970's flicks!

All in all, though it was done as recently as 1991, it is horribly dated but I was still completely entertained by this film, and while it's not Friday-Saturday night quality, it makes for a great Saturday or Sunday afternoon diversion.

It rates a 7.6/10 from...

the Fiend :.

Dan Merrick (Tom Berenger) and his wife Judith (Greta Scacchi) are involved in a car wreck that leaves Judith with only a scratch but Dan in critical condition that involves restructuring his face to look as much as possible like the old face. Dan has one other serious problem, the shock has left him with amnesia. He tries to put his life back together with the help of his wife but nothing seems real. In trying to piece together his former existence, he tracks down all types of hunches and leads that take him nowhere. Then one day he comes across a strange bill for $7,000 from a pet shop. When he investigates further he discovers that the pet shop owner, Gus Klein (Bob Hoskins), moonlights as a private eye. Gus tells him all kinds of strange happenings including a story about his wife's lover. He also learns that his business partner's wife Jenny Scott (Joanne Whalley) is much closer to him than he wants her to be. As Gus and Dan search for clues, they find more than either one bargained for. The ending is a grabber. The viewer won't be disappointed.

Director Wolfgang Petersen of "Das Boot" fame directs with a flair for action and suspense. There is a wild car chase toward the end of the movie that really delivers the goods. Though Petersen's film (which he wrote based on a novel) may not exactly be film noir, it shares several elements in common with that genre including two femme fatales. There is also symbolic use of natural forces such as the pounding of the waves against the shore to enhance portions of the script, which may or may not have been inspired by the 1942 film noir picture "Street of Chance."

All the acting is above average, but the standout performance is by Bob Hoskins as the PI who loves animals. There are also bits of humor from a pet shop employee, Sadie (Jedda Jones), over the phone when called asking for Gus.

The feel of this film rings of a late 1970's early 1980's action-drama TV show, like "Hart to Hart", "Charlie's Angels", or even "Dallas", particularly because of the location shots and the music. The scenes alternate between million-dollar mansions, ritzy hotels, billion-dollar corporations, and rural locales. And the lush strings always emerge when the characters are driving through some mountainous areas. I kept thinking that Jaclyn Smith would turn up at any moment.

The opening premise is quite a stretch: Tom Berenger as Dan Merrick survives after having plunged about 6000 feet off the road in his car. It's a miracle that his legs didn't end up in the glove compartment. Despite being more or less still intact, Merrick's face has been crushed into hamburger, and he can't remember who he is or what happened to him after he awakens from a coma. His wife Judith (Greta Scacchi) is only a little scratched up after the ordeal. She nurses him back to health and tries to help put the puzzle pieces back into his "shattered" memory.

He finds out he's a rich commercial real estate developer with a house with its own zip code. His office at the TransAmerica building in San Francisco is bigger than the average person's apartment. And he has a beautiful secretary who must have just finished a stint as a cover model for Vogue. And his colleague is the kind of guy who uses the old "two shooter" gesture while saying "We'll do lunch." That would be a nightmare!

But other pieces do not come together so easily, like why, before the accident, did he hire a private investigator (Bob Hoskins) who fronts as a pet store owner? And why did this guy's invoice end up at the development company? At one point, he thought he had bought $7000 worth of pets! (With that kind of money he could have gotten the equivalent of Magnum PI.)

The film becomes a kind of noir mystery in which Merrick tries to put the pieces of his life back into perspective all the while trying to figure who he can trust. Although some of the writing and circumstances were a little hard to swallow, the movie sort of gets better as it goes along. And a great performance by Berenger holds the story together more or less. At every moment, despite its short-comings, you want to find out what happens next. And a dynamite ending that is worth the wait and the price of admission, $5 for the DVD at Fry's.