A Review of ‘Detained’: An intricate and mostly rewarding psychological thriller
A woman allegedly detained for causing a road accident comes to realise she’s the subject of a deadly extortion sham.
‘Detained’: An intricate and mostly rewarding psychological thriller
Cast: Abbie Cornish, Laz Alonso, Moon Bloodgood, John Patrick Amedori, Justin H. Min, Josefine Lindegaard, Breeda Wool, Silas Weir Mitchell, Bernado de Paula, Jeremiah OC Jahi, Eduardo Roman, Amir Scott, Nasir Scott, Alma G. Garcia, David Klein, Emmalee Brooks, Liv Mend, Esther Brown
Critics Rating: 3.5 Stars out of 5
Director: Felipe Mucci
Duration: 1 hour, 38 minutes
Genre: Thriller, Crime, Mystery
Language: English
Release: 2024
What’s it about?
A woman allegedly detained for causing a road accident comes to realise she’s the subject of a deadly extortion sham.
Review:
Viewers are in for a pretty gripping thriller which is impressively mounted with a fairly satisfying pay off. Detained boasts a complex plot with several calculating characters who find themselves pitted in a battle of wits over a ton-load of illicit money. This unique and engaging flick draws the audience into a labyrinth of deception, mistrust and betrayal with a fair share of violence and gore to boot. Though this ambitious film maybe a tad too heavy and farfetched at times, the bountiful intrigue and conspiracy, supplemented by effective dialogue and decent performances, make it hard to turn away from.
The movie opens with forensic personnel examining an arson-hit crime scene where they discover a name written in blood - Jovan. Then, a young woman named Rebecca Kamen (Abbie Cornish) finds herself being interrogated by Detective Lisa Moon (Moon Bloodgood) and her partner Avery (Laz Alonso) for an alleged hit-and-run. A man named Robert (John Patrick Amedori) who is also brought in, claims to have met Rebecca earlier at a bar before they both left inebriated in her car. Unable to recall most of the developments that night and finding herself with her back to the wall, Rebecca sends for her lawyer. But to her surprise, a mysterious young advocate calling himself Isaac Barsi (Justin H. Min) shows up to represent her.
Shoved into a jail cell with two other detainees, Rebecca witnesses things turn violent when one of them attacks Detective Lisa. Rebecca gets hold of Lisa’s gun and shoots the assailant Sully (Silas Weir Mitchell) while accidentally wounding Lisa. When Detective Avery threatens Rebecca with possible life imprisonment for her deed, she offers him a bribe. Oddly enough, Avery begins bargaining to bump up the amount. After a strange visit by her friend Sarah (Breeda Wool) and some ensuing clues, Rebecca deduces that she is the victim of a meticulously-crafted set-up. It turns out that all the folks at the police station are in fact criminals out to extract money she stole from Avery’s recently-murdered former accomplice and friend Lewis Denton.
While keeping Rebecca prisoner, Avery employs every trick in the book to get her to electronically transfer the possible millions. This, while Avery’s associates Sully and his lover Jess (Josefine Lindegaaard) are itching to inflict their torturous methods on Rebecca to make her budge. Meanwhile, Rebecca mounts a stratagem of her own by using her ability to “read people” and accordingly plays one against the other. As the stakes rise, time diminishes and dead bodies stack up, Sarah and her mysterious adopted infant are thrown into the fray. Meanwhile, suspicions abound as to the identity of the legendary spectre figure named Jovan. Also, differing motives, and the actions they induce, arise from this complicated situation.
Yes, there is so much clock-and-danger stuff to this film that some viewers might be slightly put off by trying to keep track. Still, the twists, turns and revelations are timely, making for a well-paced narrative and quite a fulfilling climax. The film’s screenwriting team of Felipe Mucci and Jeremy Palmer have evidently expended much thought to concoct the film’s convoluted story and to build each character. And these features are well realised on the screen by director Mucci. However, a couple of scenes seem to push credibility a bit like when Rebecca threatens one of her captor’s lives with a small metallic piece or how Avery and Co. take over an abandoned Crime Division office to stage their sham in. Meanwhile, the background music is intermittently strange. Still, these small flaws hardly detract from a mostly riveting film. On the whole, the audience would be happy to be Detained for this film’s hour and half of thrill and chill.
