This Review Reveals Minor Details About the Plot.
What's Behind Those Doors?
Plot Overview
A slow-moving camera shows us a vacated desk with laid out cards
and a landline telephone. Someone had been awaiting
a phone call before being rudely interrupted causing a mess seen
in the background. A dislodged canister of gas had knocked them
out, temporarily blocking their memories. Man suddenly awakes from
his stupor wondering who or where he is (“I can't remember jack
sh!t.”) He finds he's in a locked down warehouse
in the desert in the middle of nowhere. He's got electricity, running
water, phone service, and lights, but there's no activity at
3:00 p.m. when
a functioning plant should be bustling. An incoming phone call with
construction noise in the background tells him some unknown
confederates will be there in a couple hours or so.
Four other amnesiacs awaken one by one in various stages of disarray. They find the body of a security guard in a closet whose uniform matches a found newspaper story of a kidnapping of two executives in San Diego. Their conclusion is they are the two kidnapped & three of their kidnappers, but they don't know which is who. A partially dug grave outside the window tells them what to expect (“They're not putting in a swimming pool”) when the others return, but they don't want to call 9–1–1 either, because for the other three it will mean a murder rap. They decide to work together (“This isn't teams”) to escape the premises (“we're all in this together,”) during which various alliances are formed and broken, much as in an Upton Sinclair novel:
Strange things went on in this modern world, where you swapped partners as if marriage were a quadrille; and equally strange things went on in the diplomatic world, where you swapped allies as freely. (73)
Ideology
The ransom transfer to the other three kidnappers takes place as part of a shell game at the Rosales train station in Chihuahua, Mexico where, we suppose, they hope to confuse jurisdictions and create a language barrier. The warehouse itself is in the U.S. judging by the sign on the fence ("Warning: Controlled Area") and the labels on the drawers ("nails,") though it's in a Spanish speaking district (“Ramon, vamos.”) They pay an in-house maintenance worker (“He works here”) Frank Gilroy who's a little slow (“He's not all there”) twenty bucks to create a distraction. The way the task force descends on him reminds one of, (Prov. 13:8) “The ransom of a man's life are his riches: but the poor heareth not rebuke.” They have pulled out all the stops to recover the ransom for “Bill, one of the wealthiest men in the state,” but the penurious retard hasn't a clue what he's being braced for.
It's the same in a diner off the highway, to which a tracking device having switched vehicles leads them. A bunch of poor Mexicans sitting at a table think the men come in want to sell them their piece. Mostly they just shrug off this intrusion into their lazy day.
It's a different story at the warehouse rendezvous where big money has brought in hardened criminals and police elite.
Production Values
“” (2006) was directed by Simon Brand. It was written by Matthew Waynee. It stars Jim Caviezel, Greg Kinnear, Joe Pantoliano, Barry Pepper, Jeremy Sisto and Eliza Coles. The men are all convincing tough guys while the woman is the frightened female.
The setting is bleak. The film is unrated. The police are idiots. The mystery is credible. It's 1½ hours long.
Review Conclusion w/a Christian's Recommendation
This one does a good job keeping us on our toes. It's a good one for those wanting to second-guess its arcs. Since there's a great deal of uncertainty who the good & bad guys are, we're forced to pay attention. It's a little Hitchcockian.
Movie Ratings
Action factor: Decent action scenes. Suitability for children: Not rated. Special effects: Average special effects. Video Occasion: Good for a Rainy Day. Suspense: Keeps you on the edge of your seat. Overall movie rating: Three and a half stars out of five.
Works Cited
Scripture is quoted from the King James Version. Pub. 1611, rev. 1769. Software.
Sinclair, Upton. Dragon Harvest. Copyright Upton Sinclair, 1945. New York: Viking Press, 1945. Print.
bibles.n7nz.org