Cry Of The Owl - DVD Review

"Cry Of The Owl" wants to be a meditation on emotional dependence in the guise of a thriller but the problem is that despite the want of some of the cast, the psychological motivation contained in the plot is so thread bare (surprising considering the Patricia Highsmith roots) that it doesn't quite make the jump at all. The story focuses around a lonely man played by Paddy Considine of "In America" who in the midst of his divorce mildly stalks Julia Stiles' homemaker character in the woods. This construct is fairly shoddy from the beginning and when she begins to shadow him because of a "wounded puppy" type of syndrome, it only gets worse. The movie only keeps afloat at times because of Paddy's wanton belief in it. The murderous chicanery of intention by a botched murder, random shootings and the eventual suicide of a lead character all seem resolutely empty. The symbolism of the Owl is supposed to signify death but the throughline seems anything but deep instead coming across as purely mediocre. Out of 5, I give it a 1.