The Fifth Patient

The Fifth Patient is a super awesome amnesia thriller, in the tradition of The Bourne Identity. It stars Nick Chinlund (in one of his rare lead roles) as John Reilly, an American who awakens in a remote rural hospital somewhere in Africa, with no memory of who he is, how he got there or what's going on. A local military official (Isaach De Bankolé) interrogates him, believing that he works for the CIA. He has several visitors including a woman who claims to be his wife (Marley Shelton) and a former colleague (Henry Czerny). Gradually he pieces together the fragments of his damaged mind and suddenly has memories of being involved in a terrorism plot, planting seeds of doubt and causing him to suspect he isn't who they think he is at all. Now all he can trust are his instincts, wary of everyone around him and unsure of his own past. It's a serpentine story with hefty work from Chinlund who handles all facets of the character superbly, including some third act surprises. Sometimes these type of thrillers fall apart at the seams in the conclusion, tripping over the rug they're trying to pull out from the audience in terms of plot points. Not this one. It's well constructed and makes concise sense of its story right up to the last frame. Also watch for work from Brendan Fehr, Olek Krupa as a mysterious Russian prisoner and the great Peter Bogdanovitch in a nearly unrecognizable turn. Now, I'm fairly certain that this one was never officially released back in 2007, because you literally cannot find it anywhere, it doesn't have a legit poster and even seems nonexistent in some databases. Years ago it popped up on Netflix canada for about a month, thus ending my tedious quest to see it. You'd think that such a solid film with the prolific actors in it would have been treated better, but for one reason or another, it's been forgotten. Hopefully one day a distributor will pick it up, because it's quite the well made, entertaining thriller with a crackling lead performance.

The cast of this film will really appeal to you if you know who people like Nick Chinlund, Isaach de Bankole, and Peter Bogdanovich are. But for those of you that don't, you read the reviews and see if it's worth a rental with a bunch of smaller-scale actors. For this one, it is.

Nick Chinlund (the guy Nic Cage said "Give me the bunny" to in Con Air) wakes up in a hospital in a foreign land. He can't remember who he is, how he got there, or what he was doing beforehand. It sounds pretty typical, I know.

The acting is exceptional, which is not a surprise with Chinlund. He never disappoints. I'll never forget the killer he played in "The X-Files". Isaach de Bankole is the guy who starred in "The Limits of Control", and he here plays an investigator of sorts, who is trying to figure out Chinlund's story. Henry Czerny and Peter Bogdanovich also have small roles.

I watched this on netflix instant play, and I'm glad I did, though "The Fifth Patient" really brings nothing new to the table. It was a good film with good actors, but it's not a film I'd go all-out to see.

A man with amnesia wakes up in a Red Cross African Hospital dazed and confused. He is interrogated by the local military Captain Mugambe (Isaach De Bankolé) that tells that his name apparently is John Reilly (Nick Chinlund) and he works for the CIA. But soon he has other visitors, including his former partner and his wife, and John has fragmented recollections. Soon he recalls that he is involved in a terrorism ring and he might not be who Captain Mugambe believes he is but a notorious terrorist. Further, he can not trust anybody but his instincts.

"The Fifth Patient" is a thriller with a promising beginning that becomes boring and predictable along the situations. The movie is a kind of rip-off of the central idea of "Five Fingers" (2006); therefore it was not difficult to discover where the man with amnesia is. My vote is five.

Title (Brazil): "O Quinto Paciente" ("The Fifth Patient")

THE FIFTH PATIENT starts with an American named John Reilly who wakes up in a hospital remembering only bits and pieces of his life, John tries to figure out who he is and how he ended up in the hospital but he soon discovers not all is what it seems.

This film was actually pretty good, I thought at first I figured out the ending quickly but then the film surprised me with one very clever twist, the acting was great all around, many of the characters had a level of mystery to them because I never stopped wondering who they were or what their intentions were, the direction was above par for a film of this standard and the cinematography is fantastic.

Overall, a good film for those that enjoy something with both mystery and intrigue.