Omniscient detectives are usually symptomatic of lazy writers. Similarly, I was a little disappointed by the movie's big swerve. It represents a wholesale change in the nature of the film, prematurely terminating the main plot before I felt it had been fully plumbed. The better mysteries have enough red herrings that no single possibility clearly presents itself. I've been intentionally vague about the actual plot of the movie, for fear of giving too much away.
Potter is the disgraced agent who had been responsible for the girl's welfare.
Performances are reasonable all around, although Wincott is not given sufficient latitude to develop his villain much beyond genre stereotype. The real standout is Boorem, who is more than up to the task of playing the unexpectedly resourceful and tenacious kidnapping victim. And presiding over everything is Freeman, seemingly made for this sort of quiet, contemplative role. Copyright 2001 Shannon Patrick Sullivan.