More trouble
on the horizon for Danny
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Domestic
Disturbance follows the normal thriller pattern and apart from
a few nice touches, there is little to have you sitting on the edge
of your seat.
Jacqui
Vinters
Heading the
cast is John Travolta who gives a comfortable performance and is
arguably the most rounded character in the film. The script is lacking
in depth and Travolta does the best with what he has to work with.
Plot
Travolta
plays Frank, a middle-aged divorced father struggling to keep his
boat building business afloat. Despite living apart from his 11-year-old
son Danny (Matthew O'Leary), they have maintained a very close relationship.
The boy has
a history of lying and getting in trouble with the police when things
don't go the way he would like. When
his mum and Frank's ex-wife Susan (Teri Polo) announces that she
is getting remarried trouble is on the cards.
Rick (Vince
Vaughn) is a successful businessman but that is all we know about
him. Danny isn't very happy with the prospect of a stepfather but
the wedding
goes ahead with out a hitch until an uninvited guest turns up.
This guest turns
out to be Ray (Steve Buscemi ) who used to be Rick's partner in
crime and has come to town to collect an unpaid debt.
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| Rick terrorises
Danny to keep him silent |
Rick decides
to rid himself of his past links and dispose of Ray for good but
his crime is witnessed by Danny. When the boy tells of what he has
seen no one believes him except his father and Ray isn't going anywhere
without a fight.
Verdict
Vince Vaughn is menacing enough to pull off the role of Rick, but
his character has only one dimension - that of the wicked stepfather.
For his first
feature film Matthew O'Leary (Danny) copes well. Teri Polo plays
a relatively convincing mother, but again the character is bland.
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| John Travolta
does all he can to save his son from danger |
The film might
have been more interesting if Harold Becker had tried to introduce
a new angle or deviated from the tried and tested evil stepfather
formula. But at every step of the way the obvious always happens.
There are dramatic
moments in the film which are well executed and it does provide
some tension and suspense to make it watchable if not memorable.
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