This Weekend’s Film Festival – Kidnapped!

Tales of kidnapping take This Weekend's Film Festival. Inspired by the underrated indie gem of 2009 JULIA, this lineup is ripe with intrigue, thrills and mystery. There are hapless kidnappers and sly criminals. The taken include the grandson of a rich man, a simple housewife, a famous writer, the wife of a Mexican official and the president's own child. Prepare to be carried away.

JULIA is a tale of kidnap wrapped in a character study of an alcoholic. Star Tilda Swinton is getting no Oscar buzz for her performance, but she should be. She plays the title character with abandon. Julia is a party girl on the brink. She has lost her job and her AA sponsor Mitch (Saul Rubinek) is forcing her back into meetings. Her prickly personality doesn't endear her to anyone. At one meeting, she meets another woman on the edge. Elena (Kate del Castillo) is desperate to get her son back from her father. She is willing to kidnap the child. Julia doesn't want any part of this until the slow wheels of her drunken mind make her believe this is an opportunity to pull a fast one and make some quick cash. As I said in my original review, "This monstrously bad decision leads to one complication after another and Julia struggles to keep her head above water… Julia is less equipped to take care of a young boy than she is to pull off a kidnap plot." This isn't a story about how a cute kid makes a troubled woman clean up her act. This is a story of survival for both the boy and Julia. We watch as she tries to pull off this crime, but only gets herself in deeper and deeper, and we fear for the boy's safety. This fascinating tale is a true original driven by a remarkable central performance.

Speaking of underrated gems, SPARTAN is one David Mamet's best. Val Kilmer gives one of his best performances as CIA agent Scott. He is training recruits when he gets the call that he is needed on a high-priority kidnapping case. The girl taken — the president's daughter, Laura Newton, Kristen Bell in an early eye-opening performance. With every new lead, this story takes a turn in a new direction. Before too long Scott doesn't know who knows what's really going on or whom he can trust. Mamet's unique dialogue fits the political thriller well, giving authenticity to its characters by making them sound like professionals who know their jobs and don't need to explain things to each other for the benefit of the audience. Kilmer and Bell are aided by a solid cast that includes Derek Luke, Tia Texada, Ed O'Neill and William H. Macy. As I said in my original review, "Besides being a great thriller, it also makes an interesting commentary on how corrupt politicians, or more accurately, their advisers can become. What is the real cost of winning at any cost?"

FARGO is another kidnapping tale where the schemers get in over their heads. Jerry Lundegaard, playing brilliantly by William H. Macy, needs money for a business venture. So he decides to have his wife Jean (Kristin Rudrud) kidnapped so that he can extort money from his father-in-law Wade (Harve Presnell). He hires two petty thugs named Carl Showalter, Steve Buscemi in a classic performance, and Gaear Grimsrud (Peter Stormare), a quiet guy who has a thing for woodchippers. When the plot begins to unravel, pregnant sheriff Marge Gunderson, Frances McDormand in an Oscar winning performance, is put on the case. To quote my original review, "The film works as a subtle satire of the police thriller genre while remaining true to it. At every turn the film skewers the conventions of genre. The dialect, speech patterns and accent of North Dakota and Minnesota setting takes away the hip tough dialogue that most movie cops deliver." Driven by unique characters, evocative cinematography and a tight plot, the film is one that gets better upon repeated viewings. The Coen Brothers deliver a darkly humorous tale that drips with as much irony as it does blood.

MISERY is a kidnapping by accident tale. Romance novelist Paul Sheldon, played wonderfully by James Caan, crashes his car in a snowstorm. His biggest fan, Annie Wilkes, played in a star-making performance by Kathy Bates, finds and nurses him back to health at her remote mountain home. She has no intention of ever letting him leave, especially when she discovers that the writer has killed off her beloved character, Misery. The obsessed fan demands that he bring the character back from the dead and set the world right again. Anne Wilkes is a frightening captor with her Pollyanna speech and violent mood swings. Paul is completely at her disposal with broken limbs. He must use his brains to win his freedom. As I said in my original review, "For Sheldon, Misery has consumed his life and so it has for Annie. But Sheldon is desperately trying to get away from it and Annie painfully pulls him back into a story he wants to rid himself of. It’s the greatest existential nightmare for a successful writer."

TOUCH OF EVIL is a unique kidnapping tale because it's not central to the plot and yet it hangs over the entire story. Charlton Heston plays Mike Vargas, a Mexican drug enforcement officer, who gets wrapped up in a cross border car bombing. Because the explosion happened on U.S. soil, the obese, racist Capt. Hank Quinlan, played in a masterful performance by director/writer Orson Welles, is assigned the case and quickly butts heads with the handsome Mexican officer. As Mike gets deeper into the bombing investigation, Mike's wife Susie (Janet Leigh) is subtly threatened by "Uncle" Joe Grandi (Akim Tarniroff), the brother of a drug dealer Mike is trying to put away. He meets with Mike's blonde American bride and eludes that she could be kidnapped at any moment and when she goes to stay at a motel on the U.S. side of the border, he begins to wage a psychological war on the poor woman, which ends in her being taken, but not for the typical kidnapping reasons. As I said in my original review, "Look at how he utilizes skewed angles for the torment Susie experiences at the hotel. Then see how he plays on the audience’s worst fears about what could happen to Susie. He knows exactly what to show and what not to show to create the perfect unsettling feelings." From its revolutionary opening tracking shot to its honest portrayal of racism, this film was way before its time. Butchered by the studio, this gripping thriller has since been restored to a close proximity of what Welles had in mind. In either version, the bleak crime tale is still a masterpiece.

To get involved in this week's lineup simply head to the videostore, update the Netflix queue, visit HelloMovies.com for streaming sites, check out Zap2It.com for TV listings, or help out the site by purchasing the films on DVD or Blu-ray at the links below.