- Film Review
- Reviewed By Leslie Felperin
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3 out of 5
Having referenced Se7en with his 2002 film Tattoo, German director Robert Schwentke uses The Lady Vanishes as the template for this oppressive action thriller. Nearly demented with grief after her husband's sudden death in Berlin, aeronautical engineer Kyle Pratt (Jodie Foster) boards a plane bound for the US with her daughter Julia (Marlene Lawston) and her late husband's coffin. When Kyle awakes from a nap, Julia has vanished. No one remembers the little girl having been there and there's no record of her boarding the plane. With the help of an in-flight air marshal (Peter Sarsgaard), Kyle then tries to get to the bottom of this claustrophobic mystery. Although stylishly filmed and finely acted, the script's intriguing premise, which taps into anxieties about air travel post-9/11, dissolves in a flurry of improbable revelations in the last act that leave you feeling cheated. Nevertheless, Foster further perfects her strong-jawed woman-in-peril schtick, while Sarsgaard and Sean Bean - as the plane's captain - provide outstanding support throughout.
Plot Summary
Action thriller starring Jodie Foster. When her husband dies in Berlin, aviation engineer Kyle Pratt and her young daughter, Julia, decide to accompany the coffin on a flight back to the United States. A few hours into the flight, Kyle wakes up to find Julia gone, but when she reports the disappearance, neither the crew nor her fellow passengers can recall seeing the child.
Cast and crew
Cast
- Kyle Pratt
- Jodie Foster
- Air Marshal Gene Carson
- Peter Sarsgaard
- Captain Rich
- Sean Bean
- Julia Pratt
- Marlene Lawston
- Fiona
- Erika Christensen
- Stephanie
- Kate Beahan
- Therapist
- Greta Scacchi
- Estella
- Judith Scott
- Obaid
- Michael Irby
- Elias
- Brent Sexton
Crew
- Director
- Robert Schwentke
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