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List Price: $9.98 | | Label: Paramount
Salesrank: 53160
Released: March 18, 2003 |
| Our Price: $10.93 |
| Used Price: $0.70 |
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MPAA Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
A romantic comedy about a slick-talking con artist who loses his job and returns to his hometown georgia to collect an inheritance. As stipulated in the will he must recruit a gospel choir and lead it to success before he can cash in. Studio: Paramount Home Video Release Date: 01/04/2005 Starring: Katie Holmes Tony Goldwyn Run time: 98 minutes Rating: Pg13
Description of Abandon:
You can admire Abandon more for what it attempts, as opposed to what it actually achieves. Making his directorial debut after winning an Oscar® for scripting Traffic, screenwriter Stephen Gaghan emphasizes character dynamics and time-shifting structure over action and plotting, and the results are intelligent but oddly detached. As a recovering alcoholic detective (Benjamin Bratt) is assigned to reopen the two-year-old disappearance of an arrogant college student, we're drawn into the thoughts and emotions of the missing person's former girlfriend (Katie Holmes), whose behavior--especially when her volatile ex-boyfriend suddenly reappears--is key to the slowly unfolding mystery. Abandon is all about mood and atmosphere--shadowy gloom is dominant throughout--and viewers may grow impatient as the tissue-thin plot leads to an anticlimactic revelation. Still, Gaghan's sharp dialogue draws fine work from Holmes, and his supporting cast (especially Zooey Deschanel and Melanie Lynskey, as fellow students) adds much-needed energy on the fringes of this lugubrious psychological thriller. --Jeff Shannon
Abandon Reviews:
Better off as a one hour TV Episode 
2009-03-20 - Detective Wade Handler (Benjamin Bratt) is the sad-sack protagonist of
'Abandon' (which should have been more aptly named 'Abandoned').
Handler has just returned to his assignment on the police force after
being suspended (presumably) for a DWI or drinking on the job.
Handler's supervisor won't allow him to use a squad car and wants to
break him in slowly so he assigns Handler to a missing person's case.
What's so unusual about this case is that the missing person in
question, Embry Larkin, an artsy but rebellious college student,
disappeared two years ago. It seems unlikely that a detective (even one
who is returning after a suspension) would be assigned to a missing
person's case (especially one that is two years old) since typically
missing person's cases are not considered priority matters for a police
investigation.
Nonetheless, Handler focuses his attention on Embry's last girlfriend
at the college, Katie Burke (played by Katie Holmes). Katie at first
appears to be a bright Ph.D. student who's about to finish her
dissertation and apply for a high-powered corporate job at a successful
consulting firm. After awhile, Katie starts believing that she's been
seeing Embry pop up around campus. The film's scenarist, Stephen Gaghan
(of Syriana fame), intentionally keeps you in the dark until the film's
end as to whether these Embry sightings are merely figments of Katie's
imagination or actual appearances by the former boyfriend.
The story unfortunately drags on much too long with Katie's fleeting
glimpses of Embry. Nothing much happens in terms of the plot until
another one of Katie's long-term suitors, Harrison Hobart, disappears.
Katie's confrontations with Embry become more aggressive as she accuses
him of having a hand in Harrison's disappearance. Katie is becoming
more unhinged and starts seeing a shrink to cope with the disturbing
confrontations she's been having with Embry.
Meanwhile, the clueless detective Handler has not been acting like a
very good detective. Instead of being suspicious of all possible
suspects (including Katie), he seems to accept everything she tells him
at face value. As it turns out, Handler has been attending AA meetings
and soon decides that police work is not for him so he hands in his
badge. But just as he has resigned, he receives some important news
from a crime lab buddy who informs him that a note Katie claimed she
had recently received from Embry was actually two years old.
Before the film's climax, Harrison pops up at the college graduation
and the audience learns that his disappearance had nothing to do with
foul play on Embry's part (Harrison simply lost his way while hiking in
a State Park). Fortunately for him, he already decided to walk away
from Katie. But former detective Handler is not so lucky. He already
had an intimate moment with the psycho college co-ed. Now that it's
finally dawned on him that Katie has been imagining all these
encounters with Embry, he tells her that he doesn't want to go away
with her as they previously had planned.
Abandon's conclusion takes place in an abandoned building near campus.
In a flashback we now see what actually happened: Embry got sick of
Katie and told her that he was planning to leave her so she knocked him
over the head with a cement block and he falls into a pool of water,
dead. The same fate awaits former Detective Handler: we see him
floating dead with a bashed head in the grimy pool of water along with
Embry's two year old skeleton.
Abandon has some excellent cinematography, capable acting and a
brooding score resulting in a nice, overall 'noirish' feel. But the
story does not develop organically. It was designed primarily to
showcase its 'twist ending'. Ultimately why should we really care about
Katie, the film's antagonist? Does she really stand out as a unique
'femme fatale'? Not really. Sure there are a few good scenes suggesting
that she's good at manipulating people (the job interview for example)
but there are way too many of those clichéd childhood flashbacks
suggesting parental abuse as well the aforementioned multiple 'Embry'
sightings which slow the story down considerably. The same goes for
Detective Handler, the protagonist, who never seems to be able to put
two and two together. It's hard to like a protagonist who is so passive
and pathetic.
After watching Abandon for the first time, I was forced to go back and
watch it again just to try and refresh my memory as to the important
plot points. So many of the scenes simply are not memorable; they tend
to blend into one another. Abandon's story feels more like an hour-long
TV episode stretched out to fulfill the requirements of a feature film.
Had it been done on TV, it would have been much more effective.
Abandon DVD 
2009-01-13 - What an excellent movie! The picture and sound quality are great. Katie Holmes and Benjamin Bratt were incredible. You do have to really pay attention to what is going on or you will get lost in the storyline. My daughter and I watch it often.
A GOOD SMALL PICTURE 
2009-01-03 - Previous reviews have provided an outline of the film and a variety of opinions. My only comment is that if one takes this film without expectations based on previous work of the production staff or featured players, it will provide entertainment sufficient for the hour and a half or so which watching it consumes. Whatever may be the pretentions which the creators may or may not have possessed, it is a small film, itself unpretentious, and well within the parameters of the genre of small films (often called "B" pictures in the 30's and 40's, more often "made for TV" pictures thereafter)which so often have proved to be sources of pleasure with no deeper meaning for which to probe (or to be disturbed by). What you see is what there is; not, perhaps, Hamlet ( a mystery as you will recall, but a diversion from the heavier things in life. The performers did what there was to do while script and director kept things moving with only a moderate degree of unnecessary repetition of the main story points.
Looking at this to see Charlie Hunnam? 
2008-04-15 - In the director's commentary, (director, screenwriter) Gaghan and (cinematographer) Libatique spend A LOT of time talking about the lighting and tones and colors... Don't be fooled. It's Mr. Hunnam's presence that lights up the screen here. He has a tendency to do this in everything he's in and I rented this purely to see him. I'm sure I won't be the last person to do so. He is mesmerizing.
It's a real shame his character (Embry, the missing boyfriend) couldn't be the main focus of this one (and that he wasn't discussed more on the commentary track or interviewed longer on the Making Of featurette). It would have been a more compelling film and I would have given it another star or two, I'm sure. It's definitely worth renting though to see him, if that's what you're after.
It's a good film overall though I think perhaps skipping any sort of explanation of why the villain was the villain might have served it better, as the one given was a bit lame (or "undeveloped", as reviewers say). I don't find Katie Holmes or Benjamin Bratt compelling enough to rent or buy a movie just to see either of them, but I wouldn't say they are bad actors either. The supporting cast is solidly quirky with Zooey Deschanel as a bit of a scene stealer, as usual. Any flaws are down to the screenwriter really.
That said, I didn't fast forward just to get to Charlie Hunnam's scenes. I think in this case, considering he was my only motivation for watching in the first place, that's actually a positive review. Enjoy.
Much more than you may think...
2008-02-12 - I remember when I went and saw this for the first time and everyone I was with thought it was terrible. I remember being in shock because I thought it was quite good. Granted, at the time of its release I was in love with Katie Holmes and thought she could do no wrong. Now, years later I decided to watch this again to see if it holds up now that my fascination with Holmes has diminished due to her insanely strange new outlook on life. Well, it does. I don't know what to say to all these people who find this film horrendous. I actually really like it. It works, it's solid and it impresses me to this day. Sure, it's not perfect, but it's so much better than many make it out to be.
The film revolves around Katie Burke, a young college student who is haunted by the memory of her ex-boyfriend Embry. Embry has been out of her life for two years now, just up and disappearing, but suddenly he seems to be returning. This begins to take its toll on Katie when Wade, a police detective battling his own demons, begins investigating Embry's disappearance. Katie is struggling to complete her thesis and land a good job but the sudden reappearance of Embry is throwing a wrench in everything. As her relationship with Wade begins to flourish her own demons come to the surface and soon we realize that Katie is not who we think she is and that Embry's reappearance may have more meaning than we could ever imagine.
`Abandon' plays out like a B-movie, but a very good one at that. It's not as polished as most Hollywood fare; it's gritty and dark, and I think this does the film a huge service (thought I was gonna say `disservice' didn't you). `Abandon' is at moments chilling and this is thanks in large part to Holmes performance. Katie has always had potential but it wasn't until just before she went cuckoo for Tom Cruise that she actually began to tap into it. Her performances in this film as well as 2003's `Pieces of April' are among her finest to date. It's a shame she has thrown it all away.
The rest of the cast does a fine job as well. Benjamin Bratt does his best to stand out but doesn't fare so well. His scenes are smothered with Katie's commanding presence. Zooey Daschanel is funny and witty as Katie's friend Samantha and the beautiful Gabriel Union delivers as Amanda (although I really wish she had more screen time). Melanie Lynskey manages to make me remember her (as she always does) but it's Charlie Hunnam who really grabbed my attention. As the mysterious Embry he really gets under the skin and makes a lasting impression.
Stephen Gaghan's script is tightly woven and, while not exactly mind blowing and or original it manages to strike fresh blood; creeping us out as well as making us think. `Abandon' is surely misunderstood and underappreciated. Don't let the negative press keep you away from this one.
