A good psychological thriller keeps its viewers anxiously anticipating a surprise plot twist that seamlessly, and often eerily, makes all the pieces fit together. Think The Sixth Sense. Think The Others. Do not think Abandon.
Katie Holmes (Teaching Mrs. Tingle, Wonder Boys) stars as Katie Burke, a senior at a prestigious college working hard to finish her thesis and impress a top consulting firm. Paid an unexpected visit by ex-alcoholic Detective Wade Handler (Benjamin Bratt), Katie is questioned about the mysterious disappearance of her ex-boyfriend, Embry Langan (Charlie Hunnam). When Embry suddenly reappears, Katie is consumed by fear and confusion, and spirals out of control. Simultaneously trying to balance her thesis, job interviews and a resurfaced first love, Katie ultimately seeks comfort in the arms of Wade. However, violent run-ins with Embry and multiple time skips interrupt their uninspired romance. The film ends with a final twist that is predictable, laughable and not at all thrilling.
The overall experience of watching Abandon feels like being handed a bag of movie fluff: There’s nothing substantial in it, nor anything to give it meaning. Despite blatantly trying to manipulate its audience with dark lighting, creepy music, pseudo-artsy panoramic views of night skies and an overabundance of flashbacks and fast forwards, these cinematic tricks still fail to create the creepy anticipation that well-developed characters and a tight plot would. What they do manage to create is a nagging sense that the film is aiming to insult the viewer’s intelligence.
The movie’s greatest flaw is its inability to create a sympathetic character in Katie. The screenplay rarely delves thoughtfully into her mind; instead, it relys on shamelessly dramatic flashbacks of her father leaving her in a field of snow to give the audience insight into her doom-riddled fear of abandonment. Moreover, although the most crucial aspect of Katie’s affliction that feeds into the final plot twist is rather obvious right from the start, the movie chooses to pretend that the viewer has no clue about this key fact and plows through scene after scene that would be tense and suspenseful if only the underlying cause were not already made clear.
With its clumsy plot, insufficient ending and sparse clever lines, Abandon leaves much to be desired.
