http://www.cnn.com/2005/SHOWBIZ/Movies/01/28/review.hide/index.html
(CNN)—When it comes to the new film “Hide and Seek,” starring Robert De Niro and Dakota Fanning, my heartfelt recommendation is to hide—and do not seek—this movie.
Most of us have turkey on Thanksgiving, but Hollywood studios seem to serve up theirs in January, when Oscar wannabes and nominees dominate the box office. This flick is a turkey with all the trimmings
“Hide and Seek” is a suspense thriller that contains very little suspense and, just to add insult to injury, it’s also devoid of thrills. Penned by first time screenwriter Ari Schlossberg, the film begins with the messy and traumatic death of Alison Callaway (Amy Irving), wife of successful psychologist David Callaway (De Niro). Their young daughter Emily (Fanning) is at the scene when the body is discovered and is deeply traumatized by the experience.
David takes Emily to his friend and colleague, child psychologist Katherine (Famke Janssen), who advises him the girl needs extensive treatment at her clinic in New York City. But David decides instead to take Emily to a secluded village in upstate New York for a change of scenery, believing the trip will help her recover from her trauma.
There, they meet a small group of people who, with few exceptions, look like they’re right out of the “evildoers” category of central casting. They’re all sinister and every one is guaranteed to give the audience the creeps. Even Dylan Baker, a rather benign-looking character actor who plays the local sheriff, is given to long ominous stares designed to make him appear highly suspicious.
In other words, everyone is a red herring. But none are developed enough to make them basic enough to the plot. Therefore, it’s hard to really suspect them for the actions that are yet to come.
Superficial
Elisabeth Shue plays a young divorcee who tries to ingratiate herself with Fanning’s character.
Once settled into their new home, Emily begins a strange friendship with what appears to be an invisible man named Charlie. She rejects all efforts by her father to interest her in new friends, including the niece of a local young divorcee, Elizabeth (Elisabeth Shue), who whom David begins a tentative relationship.
Soon Emily and Charlie begin to play hide-and-seek, a game she used to enjoy playing with her mother. But with Charlie the game has sinister overtones.
At first David thinks he can use the mysterious Charlie to somehow reach his daughter and help overcome her fears. But the situation begins to escalate. David’s late wife was found dead in her bathroom surrounded in blood, and that scene begins to be re-enacted, again and again, in the bathroom of their new home.
Who is Charlie? Is he real? Is Emily actually acting on her own? Unfortunately, all these questions have very obvious answers. The superficial script offers only one solution very early in the story, and if you don’t see the ending coming you’re not paying attention.
Fanning, who is sporting a brown wig in the role, is an excellent young actress and she has proven her skills again and again in films such as “I Am Sam” and “Man on Fire.” But with this performance she is reduced to just two emotions: a comatose dead-eyed stare and pure hysteria.
As for De Niro, undeniably one of America’s best actors, I have no idea what moved him to take this part. Maybe it looked really, really good on paper.
Director John Polson (“Swimfan”) milks this flick for all the drama and tension he can muster, but overall his efforts are in vain. It’s just not scary. Every scene is mind-numbingly predictable and there are holes in the plot that you could drive a truck through.
“Hide and Seek” really isn’t a suspense thriller at all. It’s a mystery movie. It’s always a mystery when highly talented people commit the time and effort to a film that is so obviously mediocre.
