Don't Say a Word

Don’t Say a Word is about a wealthy Upper East Side professional who has to go head-to-head with a group of ruthless kidnappers in order to save his child. Ransom was about a wealthy Upper East Side professional who has to go head-to-head with a group of ruthless kidnappers in order to save his child. In Don’t Say a Word, Brittany Murphy plays a psychotic young woman locked up in a nuthouse. In Girl, Interrupted, Brittany Murphy plays a psychotic young woman locked up in a nuthouse. In Don’t Say a Word, Michael Douglas’s character, though creepy and old, is married to the impossibly gorgeous Famke Janssen. In real life, Michael Douglas, though creepy and old, is married to the impossibly gorgeous Catherine Zeta-Jones. Hmmmm…

OK, OK…so Don’t Say a Word may not have an original bone in its body, but it does manage to be engaging for a little while. However, if you’re going to steal from other films, why bother to copy the flaws, too? After a decent setup and an intriguing premise, DSAW flounders in a final reel filled with coincidence and sorely lacking in logic—the mystery that drew you in is ruined by anti-climax after anti-climax. And the unconvincing Michael Douglas–as-action-hero turn at the end is completely misguided. The cardinal rule of a good mystery is that the audience shouldn’t be able to out-think the characters, which is definitely not the case here.