Don't Say A Word (2001)
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A psychiatrist must navigate a high-stakes negotiation with a dangerous gang to save his kidnapped daughter.
The story
In 1991, a gang of criminals steals a rare $10-million gem from a bank, but two members double-cross their leader and flee with the stone. Ten years later, on the eve of Thanksgiving, a Manhattan psychiatrist, Dr. Nathan R. Conrad, is asked to evaluate a disturbed young woman named Elisabeth Burrows at a state sanatorium. Shortly after, the original gang returns and kidnaps Nathan's young daughter. They demand that Nathan extract a six-digit code from Elisabeth's memory to locate the hidden gem. Nathan must now navigate a tense psychological game with the woman to save his child from the ruthless criminals.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In 1991, a gang of criminals steals a $10-million gem from a bank. Two members double-cross their leader, Patrick Koster, and flee with the stone. Ten years later, Dr. Nathan R. Conrad is asked to evaluate Elisabeth Burrows, a woman in a sanatorium. The gang, now released from prison, kidnaps Nathan's daughter, Jessie, to force him to get a six-digit code from Elisabeth. It is revealed that Elisabeth's father was the man who stole the gem; he was killed by the gang and hid the gem in his daughter's doll. Nathan and Elisabeth eventually travel to Hart Island where the doll is kept. The gang confronts them, and Elisabeth reveals the code, 815508. After the gang retrieves the gem, a police officer arrives. In the ensuing chaos, Nathan manages to throw the gem into a mass grave and trap the leader, Patrick, inside it, while reuniting with his family.
- First release year
- 2001
- Runtime (minutes)
- 113
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English; Italian
- Directors
- Gary Fleder
- Writers
- Anthony Peckham · screenplay; Patrick Smith Kelly · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Michael Douglas · Nathan R. Conrad; Sean Bean; Brittany Murphy; Guy Torry; Jennifer Esposito; Famke Janssen; Oliver Platt; Skye McCole Bartusiak
- Genres
- crime thriller; psychological thriller; heist
- Themes
- post-traumatic stress disorder; kidnapping
- Tone and mood
- tense
- Premise and plot tags
- thriller; heist; mystery
- Source material / true-story basis
- Don't Say a Word by Andrew Klavan
- Reception
- The film received negative reviews from critics but had a mixed response from audiences.
- Reported review scores
- Metacritic · score: 38 · scale: 100 · review count: 32
- Production trivia
- The film was edited to remove shots of the World Trade Center following the September 11 attacks.; The film's musical score was performed by the Hollywood Studio Symphony.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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