WHILE SHE WAS OUT DVD review
The Guillermo del Toro produced WHILE SHE WAS OUT (on DVD from next Monday) has all the clear cut markings of a classic Hitchcockian survival thriller: an icy blonde in Kim Basingers troubled suburban house wife Della, an intimate prowling camera that quietly remains transfixed on the main character in the opening, a haunting string score, a fearless predatorial threat, the transference of guilt over to the audience and that unnerving sense of danger that is invoked into a usually safe comfort zone, (cozy but in this case not always so sweet middle-class suburbia). Basinger plays Della, a mother of two sweet kids but with an aggressive and abusive husband to contend with. After an argument with her other half Della heads off to the mall for some retail therapy. Angry that a customer has double-parked, she pins a rude note onto the owner's car. But when she returns from her shopping expedition she is confronted by the owners: a group of fearsome thugs who take offence to the insulting message. After a parking clerk is murdered by the group for intervening Della goes on the run, with the thugs in hot pursuit. Crashing her car and with toolbox in tow it is up to Della to brave the dark remote forest in a bid for survival, testing the violent extremes that both parties are pushed to defend their own. It is quite refreshing for a standard straight-to-DVD-thriller to twist those clichéd character expectations and provoke daring moments of 'did she really just do that' surprise from the audience. It gives more bite to the material, evoking moral questions surrounding whether it is acceptable to utilise sexuality and violence in extreme circumstances. Also enjoyable for thriller purists is the build up at the beginning, where little actually happens and you are placed on edge as a result, curiously musing what form the threat will take: will it come from a surprise encounter with a seemingly emotionless and robotic (faintly Stepfordesque) neighbour? Will the fact that the character has her name penciled on her coffee cup at the coffee shop lead to anything? Why doesn't her credit card work at the cash desk? These are manipulative tricks that Hitchcock used to play in his prime and its nice to see first time director Susan Montford (producer of last year's guilty actioner SHOOT 'EM UP) utilise them here to unhinge fleeting suspicions. However you can't help but recall that Basinger's been here before with David R Ellis' agreeable hostage thriller CELLULAR, ambit playing more of a damsel-in-distress role than a kick-ass mum with a grudge to bear. Trouble is although good, Basinger isn't a strong enough presence to pull off a one-women show entirely successfully, and you always have the sneaking suspicion that if she were replaced with the credentials of a Jodie Foster or a Sigourney Weaver that WHILE SHE WAS OUT would be a better movie for it. Things also turn decidedly routine following the aftermath of the struggle within the remote boundaries of the forest, where you suspect the drama will evolve into something more meaningful. What unearths, however, is decidedly more silly than smart and ends the film on a disappointing note which destroys most of the film's meaning and heart in, well a heartbeat. EXTRAS Only the usual trailer. VERDICT The suspense is tangible and there's some nice work done to twist character expectations but with a silly and frankly rushed anti-climatic ending and with a never above average Basinger leading, this thriller eventually fails to keep the pulse racing. WHILE SHE WAS OUT is released on DVD from the 27th October.