Opens
Friday, April 30
Ostensibly timely, "Godsend" is a cautionary tale about genetic science that uses hoary conventions of devil-child horror to make its argument. Despite a likable cast and atmospheric lensing, this thin concoction of domestic drama and thriller suspense won't hold up after the curiosity factor runs its brief course. Neither Robert De Niro nor a phalanx of a dozen producers can deliver "Godsend" from unintentional comedy.
De Niro plays the pioneering fertility specialist who offers a miracle to a grieving couple after their 8-year-old son dies in an accident. Richard Wells has perfected a cloning method that he's eager to put into practice, and the Duncans (Greg Kinnear and Rebecca Romijn-Stamos) are ideal subjects.
Jessie is receptive to the idea of giving birth to Adam again. The more skeptical Paul resists the notion, not only for ethical reasons but because he's reluctant to leave the city. If they agree to the doctor's plan, they'll have to relocate to his Godsend Institute and sever ties with everyone they know. In ultracliche fashion, Paul overcomes his doubts after watching home movies of Adam Cameron Bright) being lovably precocious.
Flash-forward to the eighth birthday of Adam No. 2 (Bright), which brings the Duncans' suburban idyll to a screeching halt. As he enters territory uncharted by his predecessor, the boy falls into the grip of something unseen, and his dreams and waking visions are filled with portents of violence and a ghoulish alter ego named Zachary.
Paul is not satisfied with Richard's pat reassurances that Adam is merely suffering from a temporary sleep disorder. Jessie, on the other hand, accepts Richard's authority, even when he tells her with quiet menace to "rein in" her husband.
While her deference to the doctor arises quite naturally from her pain and neediness, an undeveloped background factoid posits that she's a former student of Richard's. Like much in Mark Bomback's script, it serves only to puzzle, going nowhere and taking a while to get there.
Making his U.S. feature debut, British director Nick Hamm ("Talk of Angels", "The Hole") knows how to orchestrate sudden sounds and shock images to make an audience jump. But beyond the instant of impact, those images look like dusted-off relics. However laudable Hamm's decision to avoid CGI-enhanced gore in favor of character-driven suspense, when the characters are so insistently lacking in dimension, it's hard to generate dramatic momentum.
Romijn-Stamos conveys wounded maternal instinct, while Kinnear and De Niro manage to kick up a few mild sparks as dueling father figures. Newcomer Bright provides the requisite creepy monotone and haunted stare, but as with all the performances, the impact is dulled by the muddled story and Bomback's flat, sometimes ludicrous dialogue.
GODSEND
Lions Gate Films
Artists Production Group in association with 2929 Entertainment
Credits:
Director: Nick Hamm
Screenwriter: Mark Bomback
Producers: Cathy Schulman, Sean O'Keefe, Marc Butan
Executive producers: Todd Wagner, Mark Cuban, Jon Feltheimer, Mark Canton, Michael Paseornek, Michael Burns, Eric Kopeloff
Director of photography: Kramer Morgenthau
Production designer: Doug Kraner
Music: Brian Tyler
Co-producers: Steve Mitchell, Mark Bomback
Costume designer: Suzanne McCabe
Editors: Steve Mirkovich, Niven Howie. Cast: Paul Duncan: Greg Kinnear
Jessie Duncan: Rebecca Romijn-Stamos
Richard Wells: Robert De Niro
Adam Duncan: Cameron Bright
Running time -- 102 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
Friday, April 30
Ostensibly timely, "Godsend" is a cautionary tale about genetic science that uses hoary conventions of devil-child horror to make its argument. Despite a likable cast and atmospheric lensing, this thin concoction of domestic drama and thriller suspense won't hold up after the curiosity factor runs its brief course. Neither Robert De Niro nor a phalanx of a dozen producers can deliver "Godsend" from unintentional comedy.
De Niro plays the pioneering fertility specialist who offers a miracle to a grieving couple after their 8-year-old son dies in an accident. Richard Wells has perfected a cloning method that he's eager to put into practice, and the Duncans (Greg Kinnear and Rebecca Romijn-Stamos) are ideal subjects.
Jessie is receptive to the idea of giving birth to Adam again. The more skeptical Paul resists the notion, not only for ethical reasons but because he's reluctant to leave the city. If they agree to the doctor's plan, they'll have to relocate to his Godsend Institute and sever ties with everyone they know. In ultracliche fashion, Paul overcomes his doubts after watching home movies of Adam Cameron Bright) being lovably precocious.
Flash-forward to the eighth birthday of Adam No. 2 (Bright), which brings the Duncans' suburban idyll to a screeching halt. As he enters territory uncharted by his predecessor, the boy falls into the grip of something unseen, and his dreams and waking visions are filled with portents of violence and a ghoulish alter ego named Zachary.
Paul is not satisfied with Richard's pat reassurances that Adam is merely suffering from a temporary sleep disorder. Jessie, on the other hand, accepts Richard's authority, even when he tells her with quiet menace to "rein in" her husband.
While her deference to the doctor arises quite naturally from her pain and neediness, an undeveloped background factoid posits that she's a former student of Richard's. Like much in Mark Bomback's script, it serves only to puzzle, going nowhere and taking a while to get there.
Making his U.S. feature debut, British director Nick Hamm ("Talk of Angels", "The Hole") knows how to orchestrate sudden sounds and shock images to make an audience jump. But beyond the instant of impact, those images look like dusted-off relics. However laudable Hamm's decision to avoid CGI-enhanced gore in favor of character-driven suspense, when the characters are so insistently lacking in dimension, it's hard to generate dramatic momentum.
Romijn-Stamos conveys wounded maternal instinct, while Kinnear and De Niro manage to kick up a few mild sparks as dueling father figures. Newcomer Bright provides the requisite creepy monotone and haunted stare, but as with all the performances, the impact is dulled by the muddled story and Bomback's flat, sometimes ludicrous dialogue.
GODSEND
Lions Gate Films
Artists Production Group in association with 2929 Entertainment
Credits:
Director: Nick Hamm
Screenwriter: Mark Bomback
Producers: Cathy Schulman, Sean O'Keefe, Marc Butan
Executive producers: Todd Wagner, Mark Cuban, Jon Feltheimer, Mark Canton, Michael Paseornek, Michael Burns, Eric Kopeloff
Director of photography: Kramer Morgenthau
Production designer: Doug Kraner
Music: Brian Tyler
Co-producers: Steve Mitchell, Mark Bomback
Costume designer: Suzanne McCabe
Editors: Steve Mirkovich, Niven Howie. Cast: Paul Duncan: Greg Kinnear
Jessie Duncan: Rebecca Romijn-Stamos
Richard Wells: Robert De Niro
Adam Duncan: Cameron Bright
Running time -- 102 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
Opens
Friday, April 30
Ostensibly timely, "Godsend" is a cautionary tale about genetic science that uses hoary conventions of devil-child horror to make its argument. Despite a likable cast and atmospheric lensing, this thin concoction of domestic drama and thriller suspense won't hold up after the curiosity factor runs its brief course. Neither Robert De Niro nor a phalanx of a dozen producers can deliver "Godsend" from unintentional comedy.
De Niro plays the pioneering fertility specialist who offers a miracle to a grieving couple after their 8-year-old son dies in an accident. Richard Wells has perfected a cloning method that he's eager to put into practice, and the Duncans (Greg Kinnear and Rebecca Romijn-Stamos) are ideal subjects.
Jessie is receptive to the idea of giving birth to Adam again. The more skeptical Paul resists the notion, not only for ethical reasons but because he's reluctant to leave the city. If they agree to the doctor's plan, they'll have to relocate to his Godsend Institute and sever ties with everyone they know. In ultracliche fashion, Paul overcomes his doubts after watching home movies of Adam Cameron Bright) being lovably precocious.
Flash-forward to the eighth birthday of Adam No. 2 (Bright), which brings the Duncans' suburban idyll to a screeching halt. As he enters territory uncharted by his predecessor, the boy falls into the grip of something unseen, and his dreams and waking visions are filled with portents of violence and a ghoulish alter ego named Zachary.
Paul is not satisfied with Richard's pat reassurances that Adam is merely suffering from a temporary sleep disorder. Jessie, on the other hand, accepts Richard's authority, even when he tells her with quiet menace to "rein in" her husband.
While her deference to the doctor arises quite naturally from her pain and neediness, an undeveloped background factoid posits that she's a former student of Richard's. Like much in Mark Bomback's script, it serves only to puzzle, going nowhere and taking a while to get there.
Making his U.S. feature debut, British director Nick Hamm ("Talk of Angels", "The Hole") knows how to orchestrate sudden sounds and shock images to make an audience jump. But beyond the instant of impact, those images look like dusted-off relics. However laudable Hamm's decision to avoid CGI-enhanced gore in favor of character-driven suspense, when the characters are so insistently lacking in dimension, it's hard to generate dramatic momentum.
Romijn-Stamos conveys wounded maternal instinct, while Kinnear and De Niro manage to kick up a few mild sparks as dueling father figures. Newcomer Bright provides the requisite creepy monotone and haunted stare, but as with all the performances, the impact is dulled by the muddled story and Bomback's flat, sometimes ludicrous dialogue.
GODSEND
Lions Gate Films
Artists Production Group in association with 2929 Entertainment
Credits:
Director: Nick Hamm
Screenwriter: Mark Bomback
Producers: Cathy Schulman, Sean O'Keefe, Marc Butan
Executive producers: Todd Wagner, Mark Cuban, Jon Feltheimer, Mark Canton, Michael Paseornek, Michael Burns, Eric Kopeloff
Director of photography: Kramer Morgenthau
Production designer: Doug Kraner
Music: Brian Tyler
Co-producers: Steve Mitchell, Mark Bomback
Costume designer: Suzanne McCabe
Editors: Steve Mirkovich, Niven Howie. Cast: Paul Duncan: Greg Kinnear
Jessie Duncan: Rebecca Romijn-Stamos
Richard Wells: Robert De Niro
Adam Duncan: Cameron Bright
Running time -- 102 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
Friday, April 30
Ostensibly timely, "Godsend" is a cautionary tale about genetic science that uses hoary conventions of devil-child horror to make its argument. Despite a likable cast and atmospheric lensing, this thin concoction of domestic drama and thriller suspense won't hold up after the curiosity factor runs its brief course. Neither Robert De Niro nor a phalanx of a dozen producers can deliver "Godsend" from unintentional comedy.
De Niro plays the pioneering fertility specialist who offers a miracle to a grieving couple after their 8-year-old son dies in an accident. Richard Wells has perfected a cloning method that he's eager to put into practice, and the Duncans (Greg Kinnear and Rebecca Romijn-Stamos) are ideal subjects.
Jessie is receptive to the idea of giving birth to Adam again. The more skeptical Paul resists the notion, not only for ethical reasons but because he's reluctant to leave the city. If they agree to the doctor's plan, they'll have to relocate to his Godsend Institute and sever ties with everyone they know. In ultracliche fashion, Paul overcomes his doubts after watching home movies of Adam Cameron Bright) being lovably precocious.
Flash-forward to the eighth birthday of Adam No. 2 (Bright), which brings the Duncans' suburban idyll to a screeching halt. As he enters territory uncharted by his predecessor, the boy falls into the grip of something unseen, and his dreams and waking visions are filled with portents of violence and a ghoulish alter ego named Zachary.
Paul is not satisfied with Richard's pat reassurances that Adam is merely suffering from a temporary sleep disorder. Jessie, on the other hand, accepts Richard's authority, even when he tells her with quiet menace to "rein in" her husband.
While her deference to the doctor arises quite naturally from her pain and neediness, an undeveloped background factoid posits that she's a former student of Richard's. Like much in Mark Bomback's script, it serves only to puzzle, going nowhere and taking a while to get there.
Making his U.S. feature debut, British director Nick Hamm ("Talk of Angels", "The Hole") knows how to orchestrate sudden sounds and shock images to make an audience jump. But beyond the instant of impact, those images look like dusted-off relics. However laudable Hamm's decision to avoid CGI-enhanced gore in favor of character-driven suspense, when the characters are so insistently lacking in dimension, it's hard to generate dramatic momentum.
Romijn-Stamos conveys wounded maternal instinct, while Kinnear and De Niro manage to kick up a few mild sparks as dueling father figures. Newcomer Bright provides the requisite creepy monotone and haunted stare, but as with all the performances, the impact is dulled by the muddled story and Bomback's flat, sometimes ludicrous dialogue.
GODSEND
Lions Gate Films
Artists Production Group in association with 2929 Entertainment
Credits:
Director: Nick Hamm
Screenwriter: Mark Bomback
Producers: Cathy Schulman, Sean O'Keefe, Marc Butan
Executive producers: Todd Wagner, Mark Cuban, Jon Feltheimer, Mark Canton, Michael Paseornek, Michael Burns, Eric Kopeloff
Director of photography: Kramer Morgenthau
Production designer: Doug Kraner
Music: Brian Tyler
Co-producers: Steve Mitchell, Mark Bomback
Costume designer: Suzanne McCabe
Editors: Steve Mirkovich, Niven Howie. Cast: Paul Duncan: Greg Kinnear
Jessie Duncan: Rebecca Romijn-Stamos
Richard Wells: Robert De Niro
Adam Duncan: Cameron Bright
Running time -- 102 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
- 4/30/2004
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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