Premonition

Linda Hanson (Sandra Bullock) was a once blissful bride who now, years later, leads a detached and mundane life. Aside from being a great mother who obviously adores her two daughters, she seems to feel out of place in every other way. When the sheriff shows up to inform her of her husband Jim’s (Julian McMahon) fatal car accident, she seems to spiral rapidly out of control.

Barely making it through that first day, she falls asleep on the family sofa clutching a framed photograph from their wedding day only to wake up the following morning with her husband very much alive and watching television in the kitchen downstairs. Every day, after this, seems to hold more pieces to the puzzle unfolding around her. One morning Jim’s alive, the next he is dead.

The bad: (spoilers possible)

Though the profanity in this film isn’t constant, the words and terms used are strong.

There are several shower scenes in which naked shoulder blades or backs are shown. Never is there actual nudity but on two separate occasions the camera pans down the front of a woman and then she quickly turns so that it can continue down her back. It was a senseless scene.

There is a scene of Jim and Linda in bed after they have been intimate. Neither are clothed but nothing other than his bare chest and her back are shown.

There are two scenes in particular where large amounts of blood are present. There is a scene of graphic injury images, as well as a large car accident depicted.

In one scene Linda visits a priest, seeking guidance and some sort of explanation for what she is going through. During their entire encounter, he never references God. In fact, when he begins to question her faith—she replies that she doesn’t have that anymore. She states that she may not even know what faith is and his response is that “Faith is believing in something greater than yourself.” He goes on to say that, for some it could be hope while for others it might be love. Though this is a Hollywood film, it made me wonder why anyone would go to the trouble of inserting a “man of God” into a script, and then remove all aspects of God in the process. Couldn’t he have just been a wise neighbor, teacher, father, grandfather, friend? With such beautiful and poignant films as “The Ultimate Gift” and “Amazing Grace” doing well at the box office, I have to wonder if the Industry ever really gains anything at all from these blatant “in your face” maneuvers. Perhaps it’s just the satisfaction of knowing that they can do it which makes it worth it.

Truthfully I can see a place where I believe the filmmakers were headed. Perhaps with the removal of a few inconsistent as well as insignificant details, this movie could have turned out more worthy. The acting is strong and for such a sporadic storyline, the performances are believable. It’s emotionally filmed and paired with suspenseful music leaving the audience engaged and involved in the lives of the Hanson family and what the outcome of their story will be. The last fifteen minutes of the film left me emotionally charged to such an extent that I seemed to repress the pieces that didn’t fit together, in this story. The idea behind the ending seemed beautiful and perfect; realistic, relatable…

The more I thought about it, however, the more I realized that the plot of this movie is just like an infinity of indescribable chaos. One part can’t exist without the other, and yet the other is because of the first part. Sound confusing? Exactly. This movie is a mess, and if you find yourself a die hard Sandra Bullock fan or just really yearning to see this movie, my recommendation is to wait for the DVD.

On a good note though, the major redeeming quality of this movie would be the heavy reminder that we need to cherish the people in our lives. We never know when our time with them may be finished and doing whatever we can to love them to the best of our ability may make all the difference in both their lives and ours…

Violence: Moderate / Profanity: Heavy / Sex/Nudity: Moderate

See list of Relevant Issues—questions-and-answers.

• Positive
• Neutral
• Negative
• Young people