PREMONITION (2007)

PREMONITION (2007)

time shifting in THE LAKE HOUSE as she's at it
again with decidedly weaker results in
PREMONITION. This film wants to be a twisty
thriller but ends up something of a misogynistic
mess which leaves its leading lady stranded.

Bullock plays Linda Hanson, a woman who
seemingly has it all: a big roomy house, two
adorable daughters (Courtney Taylor Burness
and Shyann McClure) and a handsome,
successful businessman husband (Julian
McMahon). Her perfect world is shattered one
afternoon when the local sheriff arrives with bad
news: Linda's husband Jim has been killed in an
automobile accident. Devastated, Linda turns to
her best friend Annie (Nia Long, wasted in a
nothing role) and her overprotective mother
(Kate Nelligan in her first feature role in eight
years). She curls up on the couch and eventually
falls asleep.

That's when things get screwy: the next morning
Linda expects to find her mother in the kitchen
and instead finds Jim drinking coffee. Of course
she thinks she must have had a bad dream. The
day goes along and the next morning, she
awakens to discover that Jim is indeed dead and
her house is filled with mourners. There's also
the pesky detail of her oldest daughter's face
which is covered in unexplained yet stitched up
cuts. Mom and best friend Annie think Linda may
have done something to cause this and take
actions that are unbelievable and completely
unnecessary.

Eventually, Linda begins to figure out that she's
living one week of her life out of order -- with no
rhyme or reason to which day comes when.
That's one of the major flaws of the script by
Bill Kelly: there is no internal logic to the film.
Movies that played with time like SLIDING
DOORS and MEMENTO had an overarching logic
to them that is sorely missing or just not
evident in PREMONITION.

The actors are generally stranded and some of
the "surprises" are telegraphed by the
screenplay and Mennan Yapo's inert direction.
Bullock can be an appealing performer but here
she just seems lost at sea. And there's an
underlying intangible misogyny in the story that
is rather distressing. [POSSIBLE SPOILER:
There are scenes where she is accused of
hurting her child and where she deals with a
mysterious psychiatrist played by Peter
Stormare that smack of payback for being a
"bad" mother and/or "bad" wife. Also the ending
-- which I won't reveal -- borders on a cliché.]

There may have been a germ of a good B-movie
in the idea for PREMONITION, but in its
execution, the film falters and fails miserably.

Rating:              D
Running time: 97 mins.
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for some violent
                   content, disturbing
                   images, thematic
                   material and brief
                   language

Viewed at the Dolby 88 Screening Room