21 | June | 2014 | Movie Reviews 101

Director: Stephen Hopkins

Writer: Carey Hayes, Chris Hayes (Screenplay) Brian Rousso (Story)

Starring: Hilary Swank, David Morrissey, Idris Elba, AnnaSophia Robb, Stephen Rea, William Ragsdale, John McConnell, David Jensen

Plot: The death of a child in mysterious circumstances sparks a series of events that seem to represent biblical plagues, which start occurring in, of all places, a town called ‘Haven’ that is located deep in the bowels of Bible belt country in the bayous of Louisiana. A former Christian missionary Katherine (Swank) turned religious phenomena debunker and her top open minded student turned personnel assistant Ben (Elba) are sent to investigate.

Verdict: Simple Thriller

Story: This story follows one of the simplest thriller types you can get, you have a woman who has lost belief in religion who tries to debunk all miracles, that gets pulled into a scenario she simply can’t explain with science. With everything going very much by the book the story then throws out a twist that changes the final outcome to what you have been led to believe. The story is easy to follow but won’t get you thinking or guessing what is really going on, it also never once pushes you towards the science outcome. (6/10)

Actor Reviews

Hilary Swank: Katherine after losing her husband and daughter in Sudan, she has lost all faith in God and sets out to debunk any miracle that comes along. She is left to question all what she now believes in this latest mission. Good from Hilary who does well with what little she has to work with in terms of script. (7/10)

David Morrissey: Doug the man who brings Katherine and Ben to the small town of Haven to help figure out what is happening with the red river. Good performance from David who shows early signs that he was ready to become the Governor. (7/10)

Idris Elba: Ben the friend and partner in the investigation who spends most of his time do the actual research compared to Katherine. Good performance from Idris showing he was a star in the making. (6/10)

AnnaSophia Robb: Loren the little girl accused of committing the murder of her brother and starting the plagues. Comes off as a dark force going against the people of the town but has a mystery about her. Good performance from the young actress. (7/10)

Stephen Rea: Father Costigan the friend of Katherine’s who took her family to Sudan, he also gets a message that she could be in danger. Good but very limited screen time.(5/10)