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Successful - and we can assume, expensive - Dr. Nathan R. Conrad (Michael Douglas) is a New York psychiatrist who enjoys a pleasant life with his loving wife Aggie (Famke Janssen) and their sweet, precocious eight-year-old daughter Jessie (Skye McCole Bartusiak). As he lays his head down on his pillow the night before Thanksgiving, he cannot know that their lives are about to be thrown into chaos. Conrad wakes the next morning to find that the door to their apartment had been opened with lock picks and a chain cutter. His daughter is missing, her red sock lying in the hallway just outside the apartment door.

Conrad has yet to discover what we already know. Jessie has been kidnapped by three members of a five-man crew that robbed a bank ten years before. The obsessed gang leader is Patrick Barry Koster (Sean Bean). As a shaken Conrad returns to his bedroom to tell Aggie that Jessie is gone, Koster calls to explain the rules. If Conrad ever expects to see his daughter alive again, he is to extract a six-digit number from his seriously disturbed patient at Bridgeview Psychiatric Hospital, Elisabeth Burrows (Brittany Murphy). Oddly, just the night before, Conrad was called to the hospital to see her by an ex-colleague, Dr. Louis Sachs (Oliver Platt). Conrad is not to contact anyone in any way; he is not to say a word. He's given until 5:00 p.m. that day to obtain the number.

As this drama plays out, Detective Sandra Cassidy (Jennifer Esposito) is investigating a seemingly unconnected homicide. An attractive young woman is found floating face down in the East River, her neck broken. The filmmakers slowly reveal the connections between these two plot lines and their hidden agendas as the protagonists begin to understand the underlying details. The two storylines will converge with unexpected twists, interesting plot points, and a satisfying climax.

The players' performances are first-rate. Michael Douglas projects intelligence, determination, and appropriate desperation. Famke Janssen does a very credible job of making the most of a thankless role in which she's forced to spend the whole film in a leg cast that extends from toe to thigh. Sean Bean's villain is effectively chilling - a cold, business-like, brutal sociopath. Of particular note is Brittany Murphy; I'm almost afraid to ask from what experiences she was able to draw upon to convey her terribly damaged character. Forget the billing; this is her movie.

The performances effectively distract the viewer from plot holes that only become apparent after the closing credits. We're expected to believe that in the middle of the night, not only did the kidnappers manage to noiselessly break in to the Conrad apartment and take Jessie, but they were able to install extensive monitoring equipment in all the rooms, including the master bedroom. The Conrads must be very heavy sleepers indeed. There are other plot flaws, but I cannot mention them without revealing too much. Lets just say that the performers and the filmmakers elevated the film beyond the quality of the writing.

Video: How Does The Disc Look?

The film's 2.35:1 theatrical aspect ratio is presented in anamorphic video; the transfer is decent but not reference quality. Edge halos may not be a problem on displays of fifty inches or less, but any larger and they begin to intrude. Have a look at the five-second Manhattan sunrise at about 26:50; it clearly shows a full cycle of ringing characterized by every dark object bordered by a bright halo which is further bordered by a dark halo. Consequently, small object detail isn't quite what it should be. Color seems accurate and noise-free, but note that the director did manipulate color content in postproduction. Exaggerated color and high contrast were used for Elizabeth's emotional flashbacks and blue was used to create mood and transitions to night. Contrast and brightness are very good, and shadow detail is fine, particularly during the nighttime climactic scenes. I noticed no compression artifacts like blocking or mosquito noise.

Audio: How Does the Disc Sound?

Fox has included two 5.1 tracks, one in Dolby Digital and another in DTS. The disc's deep, room-shaking bass requires a serious subwoofer. The explosion during the early robbery sequence flapped my pants legs. Surround effects are very aggressive, immersing the listener. The orchestral score by Mark Isham effectively provokes, although you will not stroll away from this flick humming any of his themes. The acoustic instruments are supplemented by many electronic instruments, so it was tricky determining that the orchestra was presented with a pleasing fidelity. The soundstage was widened with music mixed to the surrounds. The dialog remains crystal clear during the entire film.

Both the Dolby Digital and the DTS tracks have similar characteristics, but DTS clearly has the edge. The bass is expressed with more authority, voices are more believable with a subtle improvement in timbre, and the mix is more pleasing. I also found that more of the music has been mixed into the Dolby Digital surround channels, creating a slightly unnatural soundstage.

The foreign language track is in Spanish Dolby Surround 2.0, despite the keepcase specifying French. The audio is supported by English subtitles and Closed Captions, although it should be noted that the supplements do not have subtitles.

Supplements: What Goodies Are There?

I admire the organization of the supplements - from the generous Special Features menu, up first we have "Cinema Master Class." Here we find several sections logically structured as Pre-production, Production, and Post-production. Let's start with pre-production. Director Gary Fleder introduces Brittany Murphy's Screen Test. She performs a scene with Michael Douglas, one of their psychiatric hospital confrontations. The camera focuses exclusively on her and for an impressive six minutes, she provides an emotionally wrenching performance in one continuous take. The more conventional feature of Storyboard to Scene Comparison is next. Two sequences are shown: The Bank Heist (5:17) and Potter's Field (4:44). The screen is split in half horizontally, with the production drawings running sequentially at the top while the synchronized film runs at the bottom.

The Production section offers several featurettes. You Are There takes us to "The Hospital" (2:51), "The Subway" (2:22), and "The Dock" (2:27). Director Fleder narrates each and may be seen in a window on the lower left. For each sequence, our view is from behind the scenes. Fleder explains the nature of the sets and how he intended them to affect the audience, the process of making a film, how disjointed scenes may be assembled to create a cohesive whole, and the challenges of location shooting. The next supplement - called Screening Room Dailies - is an interesting exercise in how a scene is assembled from a multiplicity of takes and coverage from different angles. Nine takes are available for viewing; then the completed scene - clearly assembled from more than nine - may be viewed. The sequence is the fight between Aggie and one of the thugs. Next we have a featurette called Set Tour with Production Designer Nelson Coates (5:40). Mr. Coates takes us on a tour of the apartment set, the dressing of Toronto subway to create the illusion of New York, and a set that simulates the graves in Hart Island. They're revealing and interesting.

This brings us to Post-production and a Conversation With Director Gary Fleder (6:57). Here he talks about his experiences as a director and how's he's learned to make filmmaking a more collaborative process. He speaks highly of Michael Douglas and Brittany Murphy in particular, and describes what unscripted and undirected contributions they made. He advises budding filmmaker not to be too controlling. Thriller Themes (5:15) is a discussion of the scoring process from the temp track to the completed score. Fleder describes Mark Isham's work on the show. Directors tend to develop relationships with film composers, using them again and again; this is Fleder's third collaboration with Isham. We're also taken onto the scoring stage where the orchestra performs a prolonged cue while the film runs in a split screen. The last item in this section is Inside A Scene: Trench Sequence (1:40). This is a demonstration of the now familiar concept of the animatic. Rough computer animation is used to extend the storyboard to three dimensions and to aid in pacing as the shots are planned. The presentation is made in three simultaneous windows: storyboard; animatic; and, final cut.

Next we have Deleted Scenes. There are three and they are entitled "Bridgeview Psychiatric Hospital Hallway", "Conrad Bedroom - Aggie E-mail Scenes", and "Warehouse Anteroom." They are offered without explanation or commentary. Each is a good scene, but each is either redundant or does not propel the story forward. With a final cut coming in at 113 minutes, I can fully understand why they were left behind. There is a "Making Of" Featurette (7:53), which is a typical promotional short. Dominated by scenes from the film and mutual admiration, there is little to be learned here.

Vital Statistics is this disc's cast & crew info. Here you will find extensive pages of biographical and career background for five of the players and three of the filmmakers. As for trailers, Fox has highlighted Michael Douglas with a DVD trailer for Wall Street and a mention of three more of his DVD titles. There are thirty-two chapter stops. Which brings us to the commentaries. Here, too, the DVD producers deviate from the usual.

Last but not least, we have two audio commentaries. The actors' commentaries are scene specific and directly accessible, so it isn't necessary to sit through the entire film to hear what they have to offer. Michael Douglas, Sean Bean, Famke Janssen, Brittany Murphy, and Oliver Platt each take on two sequences. Douglas and Bean don't focus on their scenes in detail; rather, they talk in broad terms about the background of the film, the director, their fellow players, and the production. Janssen and Platt are somewhat more specific, sharing a few details concerning their characters and their approaches in the contexts of the scenes. Most open and comfortable is Brittany Murphy. She stole the film with her haunting performance, and the same willingness to take chances onscreen serve her well as she relaxes and shares her feelings with the DVD audience. She seems genuinely amused by her performance, perhaps a strange reaction considering the seriousness of her role.

Finally we have a feature-length, scene-specific director's commentary by Gary Fleder. I enjoyed Fleder's track; he spends very little time discussing the plot and does not fall into the trap of narration. On the technical side, he offers descriptions of filming techniques, lighting techniques, computer graphics, set design, locations, and composition. On the more creative side, he touches upon casting, performances, actor interactions, artistic decisions, and his directorial style. He's open and candid and comfortable with the commentary process, and it's here that we learn that last minute changes were made to remove several shots of the World Trade Center (but not all) prior to a September 24, 2001 release.

DVD-ROM Exclusives: What do you get when you pop the disc in your PC?

No ROM extras have been included.

Parting Thoughts