Abandon

Starring Katie Holmes, Benjamin Bratt, Charlie Hunnam

Directed by…

Abandon

Starring Katie Holmes, Benjamin Bratt, Charlie Hunnam

Directed by Stephen Gaghan

Katie Burke (Katie Holmes) is on the cusp of completing her senior thesis, landing a job at a prestigious financial company and graduating from college. As if this weren’t enough stress, Detective Wade Handler comes barging in the library, asking her about Embry (Charlie Hunnam) her ex-boyfriend who disappeared two years ago. Soon, Katie starts seeing Embry everywhere: Her boyfriend’s back and he won’t leave her alone.

“Abandon,” a so-called psychological thriller, is anything but smart and the only thing scary about it is how strangely the plot unfolds. Like water being flushed down a toilet, the plot swirls dizzily in circles and leads directly to sewage. The story is told through flashbacks, but never stays in one time period long enough for anyone to get grounded. The result is a sort of tennis match between past and future, where the audience is the ball. Eventually, the ball flies off court.

Holmes’ acting ranges between giving sexy smiles, using a bit of “Dawson’s Creek” vocabulary, looking somewhat scared and running crazily through hallways from her supposed stalker. Katie’s friends try to provide comic relief from the monotony of the story. While their words are funny, the timing is off, eliciting a few delayed giggles. Hunnam played Katie’s ex-boyfriend of unquestionable genius and questionable sanity very well and was fun to watch. Too bad his role was more stalking than speaking.

Some of the movie’s scenes seem like extraneous information and might leave lingering questions such as, was there a point to using all those strobe lights in that drug scene except to possibly induce seizures? One of the best parts of the film is the creepy music. Nothing sets the scene better than the music. The music was the only indication that something frightening was supposed to be happening.

There’s a pretty interesting twist at the end, but most will probably see it coming. If you’re looking for a movie that is intelligent, entertaining and suspenseful, look somewhere else, far away. “Abandon” is a movie you should feel free to leave behind.