Still Small Voices

I thought this movie was excellent....it was basically a one-woman show, and Catherine Bell didn't disappoint! The twists, turns and surprises kept you guessing, and the way the movie wrapped things up and resolved itself was very well done.

The rest of the cast was excellent, and this is one movie I'll watch over and over.

The range of emotions shown in this movie took the viewer on a complete roller-coaster ride, the person you thought was the "bad" guy really wasn't, it just kept you guessing the entire time. The mind is a complex machine, and the way our minds heal & try to protect us, but then can play tricks on us, well that's pretty much what the movie was all about!

In New York, the operator Michael Summer (Catherine Bell) returns to her work in the 911 Dispatch after the stillbirth of her daughter Emma in the delivery. Michael is still traumatized, having nightmares with a little girl abducting her daughter in the delivery room. When Michael reports a call from a six year-old girl in a house in fire, the address is not found by the rescue team and there is no record of the call in the computer, and her boss asks her to take a vacation to seek psychiatric help. While at home, she receives another call from the girl and the disturbed Michael becomes obsessed to find the girl. She drives to Pennsylvania where she finds Bud Atherton (Damir Andrei), the owner of a newspaper in the little town Starlight, who helps her to follow her leads. Meanwhile, her husband Ash Summer (Mark Humphrey) seeks her out since Dr. Elaine Trussle (Mimi Kuzyk) has just discovered that Michael has an aneurism and needs to be urgently operated. Ash waits for new from Michael in the house of her mother Ann Hartley (Deborah Grover), who had also dedicated her life to help people, while his wife unravels a hidden secret.

"Still Small Voices" is a surprisingly great television movie, with a solid screenplay with an unpredictable twist in the end. The plot and the characters are very well developed, supported by an excellent direction and a good performance of Catherine Bell. I love movies that surprise me with unexpected conclusions, and this is one of the best Canadian movies I have ever seen. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Vozes do Passado" ("Voices from the Past")

Lifetime movies have a certain reputation, and when I saw it in the name of the movie, currently available on Hulu, I was going to pass it up. But the title was atypical and intriguing, so I looked it up on IMDb and saw a good review (although I thought it was rated 5 at the time, and now it's apparently at 7; mystery). I decided to give it a try, and was very pleasantly surprised.

The acting was, for the most part, fantastic. The camera-work was competent, and the story intricate. The dialog is well-written and when I thought I figured it out, there was another twist. It was very well worth the time.

I thought Catherine Bell played a wonderful part; it really showcased her skills in a way that some other parts have not. I've seen CB in a lot of other things (Men of War, JAG, Crash Dive, Hercules and Timeshifters, to name just a few), but it was really great to see her in something with a starring role, rather than a supporting/co-starring role; I feel it really gave her that space to shine! The opening scenes really hooked the viewer and the next few really drew them in. I thoroughly enjoyed the whole of the film, felt it flowed smoothly (kudos to Mario Azzopardi!)and I didn't even guess the ending until the big reveal! I usually find suspense and psychological movies a big let down, because I usually figure them out way before I'm 'supposed to'(Well done Jolene Rice!) This film was great and just like other viewers have commented to me, once the film finished, I would have happily started it up to watch all over again!

This movie showcased the strong acting talent of Catherine Bell. The vehicle was wonderfully written, well-edited and paced to make the viewer keep interest.

I would love to see Still Small Voices on DVD, and there was enough left open at the end for a possible sequel. I think that this movie sets the bar for measuring just how and what other television movies should be made.

Kudos to Ms. Bell for her portrayal of Michael, and also to Jolene Rice, for creating this wonderful script. Here's to seeing more from this pair of talented ladies in the near future!