Sarah (Nicole Kidman) and Kyle(Nicolas Cage) are an over-the-top wealthy couple that have real problems. Sort of.
Their daughter Liana (Avery Miller) runs off for a wild party in her bff’s BMW while her mom paces her lonely mansion sipping Cabernet in her black lingerie. But beyond that, this family is in disconnect mode – barely speaking. And it will take a bunch of
robbers to pull the truth out of them and offer up a little family therapy.
Enter the thugs, Elias (Ben Mendelsohn) Ty (Dash Mihok) and Jonah (Cam Gigandet) who first pose as police officers and then raid the joint. But when Kyle and Sarah defy them, the tables are turned. In trauma, in moments of madness – if we’ve ever had them – we do the unexpected and say things that can almost seem silly and twisted. So while the film is not quite good or bad, it’s certainly entertaining and even down-right comical.
Afterall, the criminals have the power and the guns, but the couple has the money and the password to the safe. This is where director Joel Schumacher shines. Like Phone Booth and Falling Down there is an intended bit of black comedy that is terrifying and at the same time, real.
Kidman is a very good at psycho players. We’ve seen her as the entitled wife in Birth with a desire to
explore places she shouldn’t go, and we’ve seen her do the evil spin in other films like Birthday Girl. Like no other actress, she can turn demure to seductress on a dime. And Cage, does a phenomenal performance in what will drive the plot to extremes with his determination to fight financial downfall. Two and a half tiaras