Inconceivable

I'm not sure who decided to have Jonathan Baker direct this film, but it was a huge mistake. Considering he was also the producer, he should have just left it at that - and the small role he also had as a member of the cast (Barry). Was it too much responsibility for one novice filmmaker to undertake? Certainly. Was it a mistake to have him in this type of film as his directorial debut? Absolutely.

The pace of this film was *very* slow. Had I played this at 1.5x faster speed, it may have been more enjoyable. His selection of the score was terrible, if not clearly absent in parts that it should have been present.

The story itself, although done before, did hold my attention and I found it interesting, primarily from the only actor that was the most convincing, Nicky Whelan as Katie. Clearly she is the one that held this movie together.

Now of course, Faye Dunaway's small role was performed on point, but that comes expected with an actor of her caliber.

What was disappointing however was the rest of the cast, particularly Gina Gershon as Angela, and Nicolas Cage as Brian.

I'm a fan of Gina, but I felt she struggled with her role in this one, just as Nicolas did, of which I am also a long time fan of his. I have to admit, this is the first film I actually wished Mr. Cage over- acted his performance as he is well know to do so in his previous films.

What's more shocking is how these two seasoned A-list actors accepted these roles. I would assume after reading the script, it sounded much better than it was directed, so thus their lack of excitement and convincement in their roles I blame fully on the director.

Had this film been directed by someone else, I feel it would have been a huge success and much more enjoyable.

At the end of the day, Jonathan Baker can add an undeserved notch to his directors chair, Nicky Whelan can add a well acted and deserved positive entry to her acting resume, and Nicolas Cage and Gina Gershon should hide this notch from their actors chairs.

A generous 7/10 for an interesting script, held together primarily by Nicky Whelan. It's a shame this film ended up as a lost opportunity to be much greater. For that matter, it's inconceivable.

Slow, poorly directed, stilted acting. I watched because several reviews said the twist at the end made up for the poor movie. I've now finished watching, and was the twist that there was no twist?

Don't waste your time. I should give it a one, but I have seen worse movies. It had something that made me kept watching, but perhaps that was simply the misleading reviews that had me waiting for something worth watching.

This straight to DVD Nicolas Cage affair is certainly less "Actiony" than what we have grown accustomed to over the past few years. Rejoining Gina Gershon he delves into thriller territory and though the story has been done before they do a decent enough job.

What threw me was the initial swerve, the movie opens one way and quickly u-turns. When the twist came I'll be truthful I didn't expect it.

Also starring former WWE "Wrestler" (And I use that term very loosely) Eva Marie who I immediately mistook for a Kardashian. Credit where credit is due she put in a decent enough performance but being a wrestling fan I see her and I just see a train wreck.

Harmless enough feature which all comes together well in the end even if it does feel somewhat recycled.

The Good:

One Eva Marie scene that every WWE fan will appreciate

Gina Gershon

The Bad:

Eva Marie

Things I learnt from this movie:

Eva Marie is a better actress than a wrestler

Gina Gershon has access to the fountain of youth

Katie (Nicky Whelan) is a mother whom has recently escaped from an abusive relationship. Katie ends up befriending wealthy couple Angela (Gina Gershon) and Brian (Nicolas Cage) and stays in their guest house whilst serving as their nanny. Initially all is well, but the couple start to get suspicious of Katie when they start to learn that she's hiding a dark secret...

The set-up isn't a bad one and in some ways this film reminded me of 'The Hand That Rocks The Cradle', but despite an intriguing set-up the film doesn't contain much in the way of audience involvement. There is some mystery with Katie's character, but the film reveals too much too soon which ultimately kills much of the suspense. The main story also lacks credibility and requires a leap of faith to be able to accept what you're seeing is even remotely believable; a couple allowing a stranger to be their nanny without carrying out any kind of background checks first???

The tempo picks up slightly towards the end, but by this point I'd already lost interest in the story (mainly down to the drawn-out first half of the picture where next to nothing actually happens). I also wasn't impressed by Jonathan Baker's direction which was far too leisurely and I also wasn't impressed by the art-house pretentious feel that the film had as a whole.

The acting isn't too bad though with Whelan and Gershon both being the standout's here. Nic Cage is the big named actor here, but the filmmakers waste him here by just having him hanging round in the background (he's never sufficiently developed and isn't given the chance to make any kind of impression on the picture). The cynic in me thinks that he may have only been cast in the film as a gimmick to make the film appeal to a wider audience.

FINAL VERDICT; skip this one and watch The Hand That Rocks The Cradle instead.

With one exception every actor completely phones it in. Completely unimaginative directing, poor editing and very predictable. Not worth 100 minutes of your life.