Torn Apart (2004)

Director:

Stuart Alexander

Writer (WGA):

Stuart Alexander (written by)

Release Date:

27 September 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Thriller | Drama

Tagline:

Some choices are impossible to make

Plot:

Dr. Vicki Westin has no idea that losing a patient is going to wreak complete havoc on her life. But that's exactly what happens: Her deceased patient's grieving father seeks vengeance by kidnapping Vicki's husband and daughter.

Cast

Tia Carrere	...	Vicki Westin
Dale Midkiff	...	Jerry Bender
Richard Burgi	...	Billy Westin
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Lee Alexander	...	Tech #2
Michael Arata	...	Bingham
Marcus Lyle Brown	...	Security
Zachary Canon	...	Scott
Andrea Frankle	...	Alice Raymond
Anthony Michael Frederick	...	Forbes
Zoe Gaffin	...	Daughter of main characters
Lara Grice	...	Cindy
Matthew Henerson	...	Lou Crenshaw
Julia Lashae	...	Scott's Mother
Jerry Leggio	...	Hastings
Jerry Lee Leighton	...	Foreman
Ann Mahoney	...	Nurse
John McConnell	...	Detective
Stephen Occhipinti	...	Crime Scene Investigator
Maria Quinones	...	Laura
Tom Raley	...	Cop
Dane Rhodes	...	Rent-a cop
Spike Spencer	...	Tech #1
Ramona Tyler	...	Janie
Thomas Uskali	...	Man #2 in bar

Runtime:

USA:89 min | USA:84 min | Argentina:84 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Argentina:13

Filming Locations:

New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

Company:

Green/Epstein/Bacino

Chilling

Dr. Vicki Westin is a surgeon at Jefferson Parish General Hospital. Before she left for work on her birthday, she and her husband Billy were arguing. When she gets home, Billy and daughter Jordan (Zoe Gaber or Zoe Gaffin, depending on the source you go by) are missing. There are no clues as to what may have happened ... until Vicki, getting dressed for bed at 10:00, receives a terrifying phone call. A man with an evil-sounding, apparently disguised voice tells her he has her husband and daughter--and that she has 48 hours to choose which one of them will live. And she is to tell no one, or else both will die.

Vicki went to the police, and just after the call, there are cops at her door. She must make every attempt to convince them that nothing is wrong and that her family members are visiting a relative. The police do not believe her.

Vicki goes to work the next morning, still in the clothes she would have worn to bed if she had been able to sleep. Fortunately, these are not actual pajamas, but people still notice that she looks a mess. She is obviously distraught over something. Worse yet, she has a meeting regarding a disciplinary matter involving Dr. Crenshaw, whose posterior she rescued years ago when he made a mistake--and she's not exactly dressed for it or in the frame of mind to discuss anything intelligently.

Somehow, the kidnapper knows every move Vicki makes, and he constantly harasses her by cell phone and by sending "gifts". And he makes sure the voices of Vicki's family remind her what she must do.

To make matters worse, Vicki soon finds herself on the run from the police for a crime she didn't commit.

It is interesting to watch Vicki solve this mystery while at the same time trying to hide the truth about her situation and keeping the cops from knowing where she is. I started to say the process was exciting, but no, exciting mainly describes the end.

Some other characters in this movie include Scott, a young patient who wants to watch the implosion of the hospital's old building, and the hospital's computer geek Jerry, whose recent upgrades prove valuable in helping Vicki.

The actor playing the kidnapper (no, I can't tell you who he was) did a fine job even when he was talking in his normal voice to Vicki's husband and daughter. He delivered a mostly chilling performance, partly because he tried to seem normal, though he was not quite on the level of, say, Anthony Hopkins.

Tia Carrere did a good job too. I say this mainly because Vicki had to be a good actress as well. And she looked good. I only wish we had seen more of her getting dressed for bed. Only Lara Grice as her friend Cindy got to show off in a bikini, and Cindy had such a nasty attitude I didn't enjoy that.

I enjoyed this.