After the messy dissolution of his marriage, Robert Forrester (Considine) turns his back on city life and retreats to the simple pleasures of small town America. However, the relocation does little to appease him and soon, Robert finds himself spying on local woman Jenny (Stiles) for kicks.
One night, Jenny catches Robert in the act. But rather than turn the Peeping Tom over to the fuzz, she invites her stalker into her kitchen for coffee and a peculiar friendship begins. Soon, Robert finds himself at the mercy of an increasingly needy and unpredictable Jenny and later at the centre of a sinister plot.
Theres plenty of potential here, but ultimately The Cry of the Owl never amounts to anything more than a bog standard thriller. In fact, its so plagued by problems that it even struggles to live up to that unimpressive level most of the time.
The story itself, a meandering tale of twists and deceit, is a solid enough one. Theres enough sharp turns and shocks to surprise most, but its everything else that brings the whole thing down.
A great deal of the problem lies in the casting. Considine and Stiles have both proved themselves as more than competent actors in the past, but neither manages to impress here. Considines Robert is a sketchily drawn role, where his unsavoury antics and complicated past seem merely incidental, rather than wired into the character. Theres also a muddled American accent were left to endure.
Likewise, Stiles Jenny fails to engage. Her unlikely friendship with Robert, however engrained into the plot, still seems forced and hard to buy. Theres a distinct lack of chemistry between both lead players, something that should have really been in place to anchor this thriller. The dialogue is also generally awful, with clumsy interactions and ill judged comedic lines aplenty. Most of these howlers are reserved for Roberts best pal (Rand) and ex-wife Nickie (Dhavernas) with neither performance particularly enjoyable.
Thankfully the films second half picks up steam and sees a marked improvement on the so-so build up. Characters become more complex, intriguing developments occur and there are plenty of solitary scenes for Considine to flex his act muscles. Things become a lot more focused and while this could be reasoned as organic, the nature of the final act; you cant help but wonder whether writer/director Jamie Thraves has simply improved along the way, without taking the time to go back and rectify past mistakes.
Overall Verdict: It mightnt be downright awful, but The Cry of the Owl is a big disappointment. A serious rewrite of the script, a dialect coach for Paddy and a personality transplant for Julia Stiles might have helped its chances.
Special Features:
None
Reviewer: David Steele
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