Premonition

This film is a little difficult to review without giving too much of it away. Surprise is the only thing this movie has going for it, and there aren't even many of those. Premonition is dull, and for a potentially twisted thriller- kind of obvious. Both the acting and the cinematography were mediocre at best.

The movie follows Linda Hanson (Sandra Bullock) as she learns her husband was killed in a car accident. The catch is, that she waked up the next day and finds that he's still alive. She keeps bouncing back and forth between these different states of mind and time, trying to figure what is real and what isn't. The interesting route this movie takes presents the story non-linearly not only to the audience (which has been done a thousand and one times before), but to the main character as well. She is just as confused as we are. Unfortunately, the audience figures it out long before she does- about half way through the movie to be exact. After this point, the movie doesn't offer much surprise.

The plot itself features numerous glaring plot-holes. Normally I can overlook inconsistencies, but these are so integral to the plot, that they genuinely ruined the movie for me. I won't go into any of them here, because I don't want to spoil anything. Suffice it to say that the entire premise of the movie renders some scenes meaningless, and conflicting. The climax is fairly obvious. Director Mennan Yalo tries to direct the audience's attention away from the clearly obvious conclusion. He doesn't succeed.

The acting troubled me. It seemed almost as if Bullock was acting to herself, and not actually interacting with anyone else. Potentially powerful scenes between her and her husband (Julian McMahon just fall flat. In fact, the best roles in the movie were their two daughters, played by Shyann McLure, and Courtney Taylor Burness. They were both darling, and the most emotional of any of them. McMahon especially seemed limp the entire movie. Maybe this is a little harsh, but I really expect more from Sandra Bullock.

The plot was not the only inconsistent aspect of the movie. I think they genuinely tried to incorporate lighting into the plot elements. I didn't quite follow how they all correlated, but I think upon a second viewing it may be more evident. I think this is a powerful atmospheric tool if done well. Unfortunately, even within scenes, the lighting was sporadic. Color schemes seemed to change between shots within the same scene- drastically. So much so that it actually took me out of the movie. It amazed me how these errors made it through to the final cut.

The plot was interesting, and I feel it had potential. There's certainly a deeper meaning in it, that I feel they did get across. The movie on whole, however, fell well short of its potential. The acting and cinematography were spotty, and the plot itself was filled with holes. Perhaps this could have all been overlooked in an entertaining psychological thriller. Unfortunately, however, Premonition was just dull.

2/5