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24 out of 28 people found the following review useful: Highbrow exercise in a usually lowbrow genre., 24 December 2003 Author: gridoon
Katie Holmes is well-cast as an intellectual college student in this intellectual thriller, a strange bird of a movie to sit alongside the current batch of "teen" horror films (did you know that in this one the students actually - gasp!- study?). Admittedly it moves at a measured pace (some would say "like molasses"), and doesn't really take off until the last 2 minutes or so (!), when it presents a final twist which I, for one, did not see coming, and which saves the entire picture. All through the film you get the feeling they have something to show you at the end, and indeed they do, but perhaps they shouldn't have waited so long to get there. Excellent score and cinematography. (**1/2)
19 out of 28 people found the following review useful: Misguided Thriller/Character Study, but not as bad as many claim it is, 8 June 2003 Author: Gaius Bolling (acidcross@hotmail.com) from Los Angeles, California
B-I was a little hard on this film when I initially reviewed it upon its release. After watching it on DVD again I realized that there is a very clever and beautiful story to be told but problems in the script prevent it from truly taking off. The performances, cinematography, and music are all great but it just can't seem to find a solid direction.A film's trailer is a gateway to success and sometimes failure. In the case of Abandon, it proved to be the latter. The film was marketed as a non-stop psychological thriller but to be honest the thrills are few and far between. Abandon is more a character study with the atmosphere of a thriller. The film's main priority is to tell a story and I think audiences were really disappointed when they saw a movie that was short on thrills. That could explain its not so great $10 million dollar box office gross.Abandon is about a beautiful young girl named Katie Burke (Katie Holmes) who is nearing her graduation from a very prestigious school. She has a nice future ahead of her, including a potential job at a top New York firm. However, things begin to unravel when Katie's past comes back to haunt her. A police detective, by the name of Wade Handler (Benjamin Bratt), is investigating the disappearance of Embry Langan (Charlie Hunnam), Katie's wealthy and sometimes eccentric ex-boyfriend. Embry has not been seen or heard from in 2 years, and the lawyers for his estate want to know whether he's alive or dead. When the detective begins to bring up several events from the past, Katie begins to see Embry around campus and other various locations. Has Embry come back for love or revenge?Abandon has a lot of positives but a thriller it certainly is not. Abandon falters when it tries, at great lengths, to scare and surprise its audience. Stephen Gaghan, who won an Oscar for writing Traffic and is directing for the first time with this film, can't seem to properly direct scenes that are suppose to keep us on the edge of our seats. However, He does a good job of making us wonder if Embry is really back or if Katie is seeing things. Most of his encounters come about when she's half asleep or frustrated and the possibility of these two different outcomes are one of the scripts strengths. Another scene that resonates involves a truly alarming surprise for our main character when she's alone in the library. Other than that, all the thrills are by the book or non-existent.Abandon's biggest strength is what isn't shown in the trailers. First and foremost this film works as a very deep character study. As a character, Katie is very interesting and her past experiences with men (including her father) who have left her plays an important part into the mysterious disappearance of Embry. The character is well developed and several scenes give us great insight into her inner struggles. We learn about her relationship with Embry through beautifully filmed flashbacks that are probably the best aspects of this picture. The flashbacks are backed by a very moody score and a sense of realism that make for really good scenes. We learn through these sequences that Embry and Katie were a very happy couple, with a possibly nice future ahead of them. When the film switches back to real-time we realize why his disappearance has hurt her so much. There is also an interesting tidbit about how she attracts men and doesn't even realize it. This part of the story establishes many key points in the plot that I simply can't reveal here. Needless to say Katie's development as a character is far more interesting than the thrills, or lack thereof, that are present in this film. More emphasis should've been placed on the characters and not on what might scare us.I must give major kudos to Katie Holmes for conveying all the emotions necessary to establish Katie Burke as a very interesting character. Katie Holmes proves that she can carry a film all on her own. Holmes usually turns in adequate performances in supporting roles such as in Wonder Boys and The Gift. In this film everything is on her shoulders and she comes out of it on top. A crucial scene during her job interview for the law firm is not just a statement of power for the character, but for Katie Holmes as well. The scene shows us that Katie Holmes is ready to play a WOMAN and is prepared to leave the fickle role of Dawson's Creek's Joey Potter behind. She carries herself so well during this film it makes you wonder what she can really do in a movie that has a better focus. Another asset that Katie brings to the role is a nice mix of naivety and sex appeal. Katie Holmes has a look of pure innocence but she carries herself with a sex appeal beyond her years. This works for the character during several key scenes. After Dawson Creek comes to an end this year Katie will be one of the few to have a flourishing movie career once the Creek dries up. The cast members should get in touch with her agent.> Benjamin Bratt is stuck in a thankless supporting role that isn't much of a challenge for the actor. This is essentially the same part he played on Law & Order and in Miss Congeniality. I heard that he displayed a great deal of range in the critically acclaimed Pinero so maybe he should focus more on leading roles instead of throwaway supporting roles. I will say that I did buy the relationship between he and Katie that developed during the film. Some critics found it unbelievable but for this story I felt that it worked on a certain level.Charlie Hunnam has a very difficult task of making Embry an interesting character. Since Embry is only shown through flashbacks and his few "return" encounters with Katie it must've been really hard for him convey the emotions necessary to make Embry the eccentric character that everyone describes him as. Hunnam is quite adequate in his few scenes. He does a good job of making Embry into a very spoiled and eccentric personality but there is something about this that hurts his character development. Half the flashbacks show him as a pampas asshole. The entire time they were trying to figure out if Embry just left town or if he was dead I really could care less. When a character is mostly unlikable it's very hard to care about what dastardly deed was committed against them.Supporting performances from Gabrielle Union, and particularly Zooey Deschanel are quite good. Deschanel provides the film with much needed comic relief. When the film begins to lag she brings it back up with a very sharp delivery of some funny lines.I guess the most disappointing thing about this film is that Stephen Gaghan's directorial debut is flawed, mainly because of his very own direction. There is a more compelling story to be told here and I think if he would've explored it more this film could've been much better. His script lays down the foundation for some great ideas but his direction doesn't allow them to shine through. He did some great work with the complex Traffic screenplay, creating interesting characters and interesting circumstances for them to fall back on. This is what makes this muddled effort a minor letdown. While watching a making of feature on the DVD I learned that he had never even picked up a camera to record anything as he was growing up. Maybe some more experience could've helped him as he was making this picture.Technically the film is almost a masterpiece. The cinematography paints a very moody and effective atmosphere for the film. The cinematographer also did work on Requiem for a Dream and some of the brilliant work he did on that film is evident here. The use of beautifully lit backgrounds and scenery paint a perfect portrait for the flashback scenes and his use of dark blues and muddy greens provide set the mood for the darker themes of the story. For instance, there is a scene where Katie first sees Embry's return in a room that consists of a strobe light. The scene is so well done that it's one of the scenes that generates any tension. It's a scene that proves that atmosphere is key. The music, which was composed by another Requiem for a Dream team member, is also great. The score supplies a unique voice for the main character and almost serves as a way to get into her mind. There is a scene where Katie ventures back to Embry's country house for the first time since his disappearance and the scores soft yet moody use of the piano during this scene is enough to convey the emotions that the character is feeling.I also was a bit hard on the film's ending when I first reviewed it but upon second viewing I think it actually works. It is a bit cliché but the acting throughout this sequence makes it bearable.I recommend Abandon only if you're willing to accept the film for what it is: a character study that is light on the thrills. If you're going in expecting something that's going to keep you glued to your seat in fear then you may be disappointed.B-
13 out of 21 people found the following review useful: Not perfect but worth seeing, 16 September 2004 Author: Rogue-32 from L A.
Caught this on cable last night and I liked it. I thought Katie Holmes did extremely well with a very tricky role, and I thought there were a lot of well written exchanges between the characters, excellent atmospheric touches, and enough psychological ambiguity to allow me to figure out what was really going on before the ending, but this didn't make the film predictable - it made it clever. And the title is a good one - extremely telling, a clue in itself. Of course, it's not a perfect film by any stretch; there's too much stuff that really doesn't need to be in the movie but I still give it a 6 (my IMDb equivalent of *** - a decent premise, decently executed).
14 out of 23 people found the following review useful: Slow and Deadly Dull. What a Stinker!, 15 March 2005 Author: spider63 from United States
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
I saw Abandon strictly because Benjamin Bratt was playing a Detective. Bratt played hard-nosed Detective Rey Curtis on the Law & Order TV series for several years. I was hoping that Bratt would be bringing some of his tough Rey Curtis character to this movie. Sadly, in this movie Bratt played a meek, mellow, sensitive, and naive Detective.Bratt is assigned to investigate the possible murder of a rich teen millionaire named Embry. Embry was the boyfriend of Katie Holme's character, Katie Bridges. In spite of all of the circumstantial evidence that indicated that Embry was very dead (how many millionaires have not spent a single dime for two years?), Katie keeps telling Bratt that she has seen Embry stalking her around the college campus. The fact that none of the hundreds of other students has seen Embry for two years does not cause Bratt to wonder about Katie. Later in the movie, Katie gives Bratt a note that she claims Embry had just sent her. When Bratt has the note checked to compare handwriting, the Lab Technician also tells Bratt that both notes are at least two years old. That very important fact does not bother Bratt, and he gets into the sack with Katie, the main suspect. Their sex scene has no chemistry, and they both look uncomfortable near each other. There is not much of anything going on in this movie. One boring scene leads to another one. At the very end of the movie, Bratt has never pieced together any of the clues, and he walks like a lamb to his slaughter.Bratt and Holmes go check out an abandoned building which was the last place Embry was seen alive by Katie (on the day he "disappeared"). Bratt sees Katie having some kind of hallucination where she is arguing with Embry, and Bratt just stops her from spilling the beans and tells her that he will make sure she gets "treatment." The viewer meanwhile is seeing the inside scoop into Katie's memories, and sees that she in fact had killed Embry because he refused to continue their relationship. At that point in the movie I thought Bratt had figured things out, but then he continues walking around the ruins of this building in the dark with his back to Katie (as if he were taking a guided tour of Disneyworld).A few steps later he sees what looks like the white suit and skeleton of Embry laying in a deep pool of water by a walkway. Even then, Bratt just looks at the dead Embry's remains with mild surprise. Then Katie pounds the back of Bratt's skull in with a big rock (that Bratt did not notice she was picking up from the corner of his eye). Bratt falls into the same small pool, and drifts to the bottom, laying almost right next to the remains of Embry. Two men united in death because of their casual sexual relationship with a psychopathic killer.
4 out of 5 people found the following review useful: i found it mostly non-believable,pointless and confusing, 16 December 2007 Author: disdressed12 from Canada
mostly i found this movie non-believable,pointless and confusing.i didn't find it really predictable,but most people probably will.the acting was OK,but not great.Zooey Deschanel was the only bright spot,in my opinion.Benjamin Bratt appeared in the movie and was adequate.Katie Holmes was supposed to be the star,i think.i found her sub par,as usual.i don't really like her that much,and have yet to see he in a good movie.or rather i have yet to see her put in a good performance in a movie.the ending was something most people will probably see coming a mile away.it's not something i predicted,but it wasn't surprising either.my vote for Abandon is a 4/10
4 out of 5 people found the following review useful: a very average movie, 18 December 2002 Author: famousmonster00 from Columbus, Oh
Abandon is a very average movie. It's nothing that's going to blow the viewer away, but it's not a terrible movie either. Katie Holmes does a good job playing Katie Burke a student nearing the end of college, trying to get her thesis done and land a good job. The movie focuses on the investigation by Wade Handler (Bratt) into the disappearance of Katie's boyfriend two years earlier. Although the film had some good twists and wasn't really predictable, most of the characters other than Katie Burke came off as kind of flat and boring. Embry Larkin played by Charlie Hunnam as Katie's ex-boyfriend was made out to be a wonderful, highly talented genius, but he didn't seem anything special to me. I didn't think Wade Handler, the police officer investigating the disappearance, came across as an very interesting character either. Overall, I'd say that this is an all right movie, but I'd only watch it if nothing else better was available.
2 out of 2 people found the following review useful: Katie Holmes should try to do better..., 14 April 2003 Author: ElKrissoBacho from Denmark
I had been looking forward to seeing what Katie Holmes really was made of, but to be honest I was very chocked. If that's her best performance she should find herself another job.About 30 some minutes in the movie, I had seen the plot. The suspense was purely build.Considering the director, Stephen Gaghan, the movie should have been much better.Well that's my two cents. :o)
3 out of 4 people found the following review useful: Just as I feared: a cookie-cutter kiddie creep-out movie, 25 November 2005 Author: chartrookie from United States, Delaware Valley
I'd been putting this DVD on the bottom of my "to see" list at the library for a few weeks: I'm no fan of Bratt nor Holmes but I like Drama, and a critic who's usually worthwhile had some positive comments on the cover. And I was out of other movies to take a chance on.Wow. How is it possible for respected writer like Gaghan to direct a "thriller" with UTTERLY no suspense? Compare this to Michael Mann's Insider where he takes what could have quickly degenerated into a dry plowing-through of mounds of legal-scientific documents and turned it into an EXCITING DRAMA. Maybe after writing the very successful Traffic Gaghan had an automatic Green Light for whatever he wanted to do, so he hauled this script out of his own slush pile.Actually the final twist itself was pretty good. (But then failing to see twists coming is my weak spot, or perhaps strength.) But that's a skill some directors have in spades: building suspense. It's certainly not Gaghan's forte.
3 out of 4 people found the following review useful: Worth one viewing only, 11 May 2004 Author: Shawn Watson (gator_macready@yahoo.com) from The Underverse
I liked this movie. It portrayed teenagers and college students in a far more subdued manner than normal and didn't animate any characters to the point of stupidity (IE Stifler is not in this movie and no one 'does it' with a dog covered in wedding cake). Almost everyone in is disconnected in some way and have feelings that do not show. It's a character driven movie that works thanks to delicate acting and atmospheric direction. I found the strobing scene to be particularly interesting, especially in retrospect now that I know the (pretty surprising) plot twist.Katie Holmes, though not remarkable, gives her role enough life to make the movie work but still cannot separate from her Dawson's Creek part. Only as the movie draws to a close does she really provoke any emotion from the audience. It's a difficult character to play but she just about makes it.The script is pretty weak but it's delivered in a deliberately empty way. We almost feel abandoned watching it. The movie is sparsely populated and makes us feel alone. It creates an interesting atmosphere that is the movie's saving grace. Without this edge it would be a waste of time. It's worth a rent, but only for viewing alone.The DVD has Audio commentary by Director / Writer Stephan Gaghan and Cinematographer Matthew Libatique, brief documentary, Deleted scenes with Director's commentary and a trailer. It is presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen and is in Dolby 5.1.
1 out of 1 people found the following review useful: Better off as a one hour TV episode, 19 March 2009 Author: Turfseer from United States
Detective Wade Handler (Benjamin Bratt) is the sad-sack protagonist of 'Abandon' (which should have been more aptly named 'Abandoned'). Handler has just returned to his assignment on the police force after being suspended (presumably) for a DWI or drinking on the job. Handler's supervisor won't allow him to use a squad car and wants to break him in slowly so he assigns Handler to a missing person's case. What's so unusual about this case is that the missing person in question, Embry Larkin, an artsy but rebellious college student, disappeared two years ago. It seems unlikely that a detective (even one who is returning after a suspension) would be assigned to a missing person's case (especially one that is two years old) since typically missing person's cases are not considered priority matters for a police investigation.Nonetheless, Handler focuses his attention on Embry's last girlfriend at the college, Katie Burke (played by Katie Holmes). Katie at first appears to be a bright Ph.D. student who's about to finish her dissertation and apply for a high-powered corporate job at a successful consulting firm. After awhile, Katie starts believing that she's been seeing Embry pop up around campus. The film's scenarist, Stephen Gaghan (of Syriana fame), intentionally keeps you in the dark until the film's end as to whether these Embry sightings are merely figments of Katie's imagination or actual appearances by the former boyfriend.The story unfortunately drags on much too long with Katie's fleeting glimpses of Embry. Nothing much happens in terms of the plot until another one of Katie's long-term suitors, Harrison Hobart, disappears. Katie's confrontations with Embry become more aggressive as she accuses him of having a hand in Harrison's disappearance. Katie is becoming more unhinged and starts seeing a shrink to cope with the disturbing confrontations she's been having with Embry.Meanwhile, the clueless detective Handler has not been acting like a very good detective. Instead of being suspicious of all possible suspects (including Katie), he seems to accept everything she tells him at face value. As it turns out, Handler has been attending AA meetings and soon decides that police work is not for him so he hands in his badge. But just as he has resigned, he receives some important news from a crime lab buddy who informs him that a note Katie claimed she had recently received from Embry was actually two years old.Before the film's climax, Harrison pops up at the college graduation and the audience learns that his disappearance had nothing to do with foul play on Embry's part (Harrison simply lost his way while hiking in a State Park). Fortunately for him, he already decided to walk away from Katie. But former detective Handler is not so lucky. He already had an intimate moment with the psycho college co-ed. Now that it's finally dawned on him that Katie has been imagining all these encounters with Embry, he tells her that he doesn't want to go away with her as they previously had planned.Abandon's conclusion takes place in an abandoned building near campus. In a flashback we now see what actually happened: Embry got sick of Katie and told her that he was planning to leave her so she knocked him over the head with a cement block and he falls into a pool of water, dead. The same fate awaits former Detective Handler: we see him floating dead with a bashed head in the grimy pool of water along with Embry's two year old skeleton.Abandon has some excellent cinematography, capable acting and a brooding score resulting in a nice, overall 'noirish' feel. But the story does not develop organically. It was designed primarily to showcase its 'twist ending'. Ultimately why should we really care about Katie, the film's antagonist? Does she really stand out as a unique 'femme fatale'? Not really. Sure there are a few good scenes suggesting that she's good at manipulating people (the job interview for example) but there are way too many of those clichéd childhood flashbacks suggesting parental abuse as well the aforementioned multiple 'Embry' sightings which slow the story down considerably. The same goes for Detective Handler, the protagonist, who never seems to be able to put two and two together. It's hard to like a protagonist who is so passive and pathetic.After watching Abandon for the first time, I was forced to go back and watch it again just to try and refresh my memory as to the important plot points. So many of the scenes simply are not memorable; they tend to blend into one another. Abandon's story feels more like an hour-long TV episode stretched out to fulfill the requirements of a feature film. Had it been done on TV, it would have been much more effective.
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