Review of Surveillance (2008) by Lorelei A — 10 Sep 2010

Jennifer Chambers Lynch lovingly/lusting-ly crafts each of her actors and actresses into fully developed characters. Hate to compare her to her father, but she blows him away. Unlike his characters these characters are drawn from experience and there are no bizarre constructs.

Lynch has empathy for all flawed/damaged goods characters. The characters are all filled out and exude that they have a finely tuned back story that is palpable but not overtly expressed. The audience?s point of access is Ryan Simpkin, a 11 year old girl traveling with her brother, step father and mother, Cheri Oteri.

Normally Oteri is like fingernails on a chalkboard to me, but Lynch molds her into a 40?s something single mother who?s desperately trying to hang onto her new husband while trying to bring up her own children who don?t really accept him but are faking it for her happiness.

Pullman and Ormond are exceptional but to go into details gives too much away. Ormand is as beautiful as when she did Sabrina or Smilla?s sense of snow 14 years ago. The only flaw in the movie besides the opening slow pace is the twist unravels too soon.

Movie logic 301: When a director concentrates on character development; the person or persons without an apparent motive are the perpetrators. With a little more slight of hand distraction the twist would have that got ya factor.

Jen you have a fan for life. I will track down any movie you make, just don?t wait 15 years.