Haven

In Cayman Island, the daughter of a powerful man - Andrea (Zoe Saldana) - and the fisherman Shy (Orlando Bloom) are in a deep but secret love, hidden from Andrea's parents. When Andrea's father sails in a fish-trip, they have a night of love at Andrea's home; however they sleep and are surprised by the arrival of her family in the morning. Later, Andrea's brother Hammer (Anthony Mackie) throws acid on the face of Shy and spends four months in prison. In Miami, the dirty businessman Carl Ridley (Bill Paxton) is chased by Federal agents and escapes with his teenage daughter Pippa (Agnes Bruckner) to Cayman Island trying to reach his lawyer Mr. Allen (Stephen Dillane). Pippa meets the small time thief Fritz (Victor Rasuk) sleeping in her room and he invites her to go a party. Before leaving the condo, Fritz sees Carl counting lots of money. Fritz owes money to the dangerous drug dealer Richie Rich (Razaaq Adoti) and tells him about the fortune Carl has. Along a Friday 13th night, their lives entwine in a chain of tragic events.

"Haven" is an entertaining movie, with a complex non-linear screenplay with many characters that have their lives entwined. There are many credible sub-plots and considering the running time of 99 minutes, the situations and characters are very well-developed. The direction and acting are great, there are many beautiful locations but the screenplay is really top-notch. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Haven"

I also saw the world premiere of Haven on Saturday at the Toronto film fest and all I can say is that I was completely blown away by it. I don't know what I was expecting when I went into the theatre but what I got was something that kept my interest peaked through out the entire two hours and had me filled with questions until the very end.

Every actor involved in Haven was perfectly chosen and held their own with spectacular performances. Personally, I think that Bill Paxton is at the top of his game right now and Orlando Bloom is just to die for as Shy, a young fisherman on the Island. Zoe Saldana had me in tears with her performance and I can't wait to see it again when it finally comes to theaters. I think it's fair to say that Haven will put Frank E. Flowers on the map and he has earned it with this movie. Unbelievable. I loved it.

I saw this film at the world premiere last night at the Toronto Film Festival. It was a crime drama told in the non-linear style made famous by Tarantino. What really made this movie stand out from like-themed movies, was it's setting in the Cayman Islands. The culture of the Caymans is evident in every shot, every frame, and it give an entirely fresh perspective on subjects we've visited before.

Frank E. Flowers does a fantastic job of keeping the story coherent as we alternate between two timelines, set four months apart. The acting is strong and the entire film has a distinctive atmosphere.

The crowd seemed to love it, but then again, the entire cast was present and the audience was quite excited (especially by Orlando Bloom). Still, a very good movie. It seemed like it may have been a little long, perhaps ten minutes or so, but that really came from trying to establish the Caymanian culture, so it's understandable.

The story is not exactly impressive but correct crafted.

The slick manner to tell the story represents the basic good point of film. Reasonable acting, good job of Orlando Bloom, interracial romance and some drops of Romeo and juliet, Cayeman stories and a ball of destinies .

Difficult to define it more than an ordinary thriller but the good intentions and part of nice work of director are good reasons for not define Haven as waste of time.

Indeed, significant part of story is reduced at sketches, well constructed or, more exactly, enough for a not bad work , offering to viewer kicks to reflection, in honest - precise way.

In short, decent film.

I saw the second screening of this film, at the Toronto Film Festival. It reminded me a little bit like the film "Traffic" with a hint of Quentin Tarantino. The movie threads together multiple story lines and shifts back and forth through time.

Bill Paxton has a great performance as a shady business man who escapes with this daughter to the Cayman Islands.

Orlando Bloom's character is the most endearing. I found I could relate to his character the most. Shy (Bloom) was the classic boy from the wrong side of the tracks, who is completely in love with the rich girl, Andrea (Zoe Saldana).

Zoe Saldana has a great performance as well. Her character goes from a sweet girl who makes a complete 180 turn to a druggie /(how to put this politically correct) very easy girl.

Overall I really enjoyed the movie. Frank E. Flowers did a really great job with his debut. The story was really intriguing and the setting was beautiful. A really well done film.