Director: Christian Zubert
Starring: Jeanne Goursaud, Dougray Scott
Running Time: 109 minutes
Synopsis: In Frankfurt, German army veteran and single mom Sara Wulf (Jeanne Goursaud) is suffering from PTSD. While at the American consulate to obtain a visa, her young son Josh goes missing. Consulate security officer Eric Kynch (Dougray Scott) tries to calm down Sara, but she escapes into the sprawling consulate complex, using her combat training to enter secure areas and look for Josh. In a guest apartment she stumbles upon the mysterious Irina (Lera Abova), who has her own reasons to break free. The two women join forces, but security officers are in close pursuit.
What Works Well: Jeanne Goursaud delivers a physically arduous and grim performance powered by a mother's determination, and for a good stretch director Christian Zubert keeps the guessing game going as to whether Sara is mentally unhinged or the victim of conspiracy. The English dubbing of the German production is quite good.
What Does Not Work As Well: Featuring illicit drug smuggling on consulate grounds, a half-baked Belarusian refugee-and-kidnapping sub-story, and shady revelations about a Taliban ambush that targeted Sara's unit in Afghanistan, the plot is overloaded with incomplete ideas and becomes increasingly preposterous. The ability of Sara and Irina to outsmart the security apparatus and continuously evade capture stretches all credibility, while the hand-to-hand combat scenes are bone-crushingly brutal but become samey.
Key Quote:
Kynch (describing Sara): She's just a scared mother.
All Ace Black Movie Blog reviews are here.
No comments:
Post a Comment
We welcome reader comments about this post.