The Cry of the Owl (2009) Reviews

• It IS a dark comedy! And an excellent bad dream...

  j-thraves2010-08-12

  Virtually ignored on it's release, barely reviewed in the press, I think this is a great film that is misunderstood and unfairly misjudged. This movie is essentially a dark comedy and a bad dream rolled into one. The story, based on the novel by Highsmith, is absurd, of course it's a comedy as all Highsmith's work is essentially darkly humorous, come on, a stalker who gets stalked by his victim? The director has a very subtle touch and I think this is why so many people watching this film are lost, the film doesn't make conventional choices, it simply doesn't make it easy on the viewer that's why so many people feel confused by this movie, but in my opinion many viewers these days are unable to recognize when a film is interesting, doing something different from the norm, and this film is doing exactly that. The film has touches of Lynch, Cronenberg and the Cohens about it yet refuses to follow any of those directors paths. You could say it is quite old fashioned, it relies heavily on mise on scene, a lost art today in most films, but to label it Hitchcockian is doing the film a great disservice because the label is too easy to apply here and the director, I believe, is well aware of the obvious comparison and is constantly playing with those notions. This is perhaps more a philosophical thriller than a psychological one and perhaps that is why it doesn't satisfy everyone, maybe the film could have benefited from a little more tension, but for me it is an intelligent dissection of the dangers of the romantic mind. Robert wants the perfect woman, he stares at her through her window as if in a painting, but he knows the perfect woman doesn't exist, when Jenny invites Robert in the 'real' woman is exposed as being even more nuts than him. Look at what Robert says to Nickie, his ex wife, at the end, 'when I first saw you , you were like a statue, then you moved and it was all...downhill from there on in.' He's only happy with the frozen image of a woman, I believe both Jenny and Nickie's death are kind of willed by this man in some dark way, set in motion by him at the very least, the women he loves are more beautiful to him in death (as statues) than alive. At the end Robert gets what he wishes for, to be in the painting (the window) himself but always alone. Recommended only for those with a wicked sense of humour, patience and a sharp intellect.

• Compelling and Unsettling

  woodside-76-8786182011-06-09

  I was drawn into this film by the uneasy feeling that the central characters were being drawn into a slow-sucking situational quicksand, an experience that for most of us only happens in nightmares. If you prefer snappy pace and predictability in your films, move on. As the other reviews indicate, you either really like this film, or really dislike it for any number of reasons. At times I wanted to grab the "hero" by the shoulders and give him a shake to snap him out of his apparent lassitude. At that point I realized the movie was working for me, I was invested emotionally. Casting stays refreshingly clear of stereotypes with not a "pretty boy" in sight, and direction, performances and technical credits are mostly right on the mark. This picture would have done so much better at the box office if it had let the potential audience know that Patricia Highsmith was the author of Hitchcock's "Strangers on a Train." For those of us not familiar with Highsmith's work, the title "The Cry of the Owl" is just too far removed from the essence of this film to be a draw. So when you have the opportunity to see this film, relax, put your feet up and watch the first ten or so minutes. If you fall asleep, or find your mind turning towards undone kitchen tasks, then get back to "Jersey Shore" or whatever else gives your entertainment rush. If this film passes the ten-minute endurance test, you'll find it evolves into 100 minutes of compelling entertainment, destined to linger in the dark crannies of your mind for longer than you might expect.

• Good movie, slightly underrated

  Panaluke2010-07-03

  I have never read the novel, nor heard of the movie. After reading some of the reviews here, I decided to give it a shot. And I have to say, I do not regret it. This is a very dark movie with disturbed main characters, greatly acted by Robert Considine and Julia Stiles. This isn't your typical fast-paced Hollywood thriller. I consider this movie to be "different", the plot develops slowly and is very unpredictable, which makes it in my opinion very enjoyable. I totally recommend this movie to anyone, who likes dramas / thrillers with a dark touch, and enjoys great acting. I give it a 7 out of 10.

• An almost perfect Highsmith adaptation!

  hansdewolff2010-01-08

  "The Cry of the Owl" is a scrupulous adaptation of the Patricia Highsmith novel with the same title. The novels of miss Highsmith are generally considered as crime-novels, but in my opinion they're more like psychological thrillers. Apart from her famous Tom Ripley novels (a series with a slightly different approach), the rest of her work is set up around pretty much the same theme in every novel: a man (almost always a man!) gets into trouble by a death for which he somehow is (or feels) responsible, either trough accident or by an impulsive act. The rest of the novel is spent on how this man deals with his mounting feelings of guilt and remorse, and whether he will turn himself in, or get caught, or succeed in wiggling himself out of the mess he's caused. The main character is usually a friendly but slightly neurotic, pondering kind of guy who means well but seems to make one wrong decision after another. Miss H's novels are also always (and rather surprisingly!) a bit misogynous: women play a dark role, they are unreliable to say the least, sometimes air-headed or at other times downright conniving and vicious. In many cases they not only are the cause of the initial crime but they enhance the ultimate downfall of the main character. "The Cry of the Owl" is about a man who's in the middle of a messy divorce and who accidentally witnesses a (supposed) marital bliss when he peeks through a window in his neighborhood. When the woman catches him spying on her, she asks him in, and all of a sudden the tables are turned: she starts to stalk him and he gets to deal with her jealous dumped boyfriend. This film has much to say for it. It seems to be pretty true to the book (I checked the ending with my copy of the novel, it almost fits literally!) and the typical Highsmith-atmosphere is captured flawlessly: the slow pace, the tentative communications between the protagonists, the unglamorous, almost dull settings, it's all quintessential Highsmith. I very much liked Julia Stiles here, she's totally convincing as the subdued but inwardly resolved Jenny who turns the quiet life of recluse Robert upside down. She's lovely and compelling in an unobtrusive way and her acting is great with only few words but a very subtle use of expressions of her beautiful face. On the other side I did have some trouble with Paddy Considine as Robert. Sure, he played the dull, neurotic, passive and slightly cowardly character to perfection. Yet something was amiss. All of miss H's anti-heroes have to be handsome in an all-American way, they have to look and behave like someone's ideal son-in-law. It's partly this contrast between their outward charm and their inward neuroses that's responsible for the troubles they get themselves into. So it should be the same in this story, where it's even more important that the main character is a nice and charming guy, to make it believable that there's this very sexy and debonair ex-wife who still lusts after him and that he can have at the same time such an appeal on this pretty Jenny. It's also important for us, the audience, to have enough reason to sympathize with him. With Considine unfortunately this is rather very hard and his supposed attractiveness is totally unbelievable. He looks old, ragged and worn out, drags himself around, speaks in a slugged, drawling voice and more or less looks like an escaped convict the whole movie through. This only fits in the parts where he looses his cool and beats the hell out-off someone, but in the rest of the movie it's just not enough in sync with the premise of a charming guy who's sought-after by two beautiful women. The other main parts are well covered: James Gilbert is convincingly menacing as the dumped boyfriend and Caroline Dhavernas is the perfect counterpart to Jenny, as the sexually aggressive, vindictive but still caring ex-wife. All in all, I compliment director (and writer!) Jamie Thraves in capturing Highsmith so well on screen, where so many others in my opinion have failed in this (like the terrible "Ripley's game" with John Malkovich!). Apart from the casting of Considine this is an excellent movie. I rank it 8 out of 10.

• Intelligently Crafted

  RWCannon2010-05-29

  Withholding in the best sense of the word. I started watching this movie laying in bed and by the time I was nearing the end all my blankets were twisted one way or another. And I admit, I did not even know this was from the guy who did The Talented Mr. Ripley, which I would probably have given a 6.5/7 after seeing in theaters. This was an incredibly refreshing approach to a thriller. The settings subdued and passive, set up from the opening scene. The score was never Hitchcock, in that notion of action/suspense/surprise follows ominous cords. The cast all held something back that I couldn't quite place my finger on but by the time the credits rolled, wow... what a job they did. The only thing I would say to those reading this-- If you like your standard Hollywood movies go ahead and pass on this (nothing is spoon fed). But if you enjoy those parts of a good novel that compel you to keep reading, then this movie will surely please. I know the review is a bit vague, but watch this movie... If my words mislead you then feel free to come back and thumbs down me 2x.