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08/17/2017 12:01 AMRated R
Kidnap is a new film currently out in theaters starring Academy Award winning superstar Halle Berry and directed by Luis Prieto (Pusher and Bamboleho). Berry is not only the film’s star, but she also is one of its producers. While it certainly has its share of suspenseful situations, the so-called thriller is more humdrum than it is thrilling most of the time.
Karla Dyson (Berry of Monster’s Ball and The Call) is a single mom who is desperate to keep her beloved six year-old son, Frankie (Sage Correa TV’s Uncle Buck and Life in Pieces), in her life full-time despite her ex’s attempts to gain primary custody of Frankie during their divorce proceedings.
One afternoon, while enjoying themselves at the park, Karla gets a phone call from her lawyer who explains the devastating news to Karla. She panics, knowing that the court might be willing to side with her soon-to-be ex-husband and his new girlfriend who are far more affluent than she is as a single mom working as a waitress. It is during this brief moment of panic that Karla becomes distracted enough to allow Frankie to slip out of her sight undetected. As Karla begins to look around the playground area, calling out for Frankie, whom she assumes at first is hiding from her, Karla soon realizes that Frankie is gone, leaving behind only his favorite toy on a nearby bench.
Karla scans the parking lot as she is desperately searching for Frankie and spots him being forced into an unknown car by a woman (Chris McGinn of Sight Unseen and Every Secret Thing) who is an absolute stranger to her. Running after the bluish-green, beat up, old Mustang GT, Karla tries to get the car to stop by holding onto it for her life, but she eventually is shaken free from her hold on it and it speeds away. In a split second decision, Karla decides to pursue the Mustang by jumping into her own red minivan and speeding down the road after it.
Karla soon discovers that she has lost her phone at some point between talking to her attorney and getting in her vehicle. Unable to call the police to help get her son back, she continues to pursue the Mustang on her own, following its every move as she talks out loud to herself about the situation she is in. As the Mustang weaves in and out of traffic, Karla does, too, determined to catch up to it and retrieve Frankie. Karla tries to get the attention of other drivers by shouting to them, but eventually she is resolved to accept that they cannot hear her and she is completely on her own.
Even after her gas tank begins to make contact with the E on the dashboard, Karla stoically believes that the police will be coming to help her soon due to the complete carnage that is being inflicted on other vehicles and their drivers who come too close to the Mustang or Karla. Eventually though, she realizes that no help is ever going to arrive and she must end things herself.
The film is blissfully short at just under an hour and a half, but Karla’s ordeal lasts long enough to do two things. One is to make the viewers proud of her stamina and determination (although what parent wouldn’t do everything in his or her power to keep that car in sight?!). The other is to make viewers wish for fewer scenes of Karla’s worried face and her speedometer revving up in speed as she makes her way down the highway and just get to some fresh action already.
Berry’s performance is intense and mostly believable, but it’s not enough to take this thriller to moments of pure thrill. Kidnap is a mediocre film. It is doubtful than any viewer will be too disappointed that he or she paid to see it, but non-viewers aren’t necessarily missing out on anything if they decide to skip it, either.
Have you seen a movie recently that you’ve loved, or are you excited about one coming up? Send a short description of the movie and why you like it, to Pem McNerney at p.mcnerney@shorepublishing.com, along with a selfie of you at the movies. We’ll share it with our readers!