wes-connors
Writer/director Frank E. Flowers makes "Haven" in the disjointed, jumped-up style resembling his production team's more successful "Crash", which is supposed to be this film's selling point. But, "Haven" only emphasizes what goes wrong with this type of picture. Instead of fresh, it's frazzled. As the story lines wobble around, the cameras leave a relatively engaging Victor Rasuk (as Fritz).Then, reminding you of "Crash" connections, the film's hooded "Romeo and Juliet" storyline takes hold. "On the idyllic shores of the Cayman Islands, Shy (Orlando Bloom) and Andrea (Zoe Saldana) share a secret her parents can never know - they are in love. But a night of passion leads to the discovery of their secret and a devastating act of vengeance by Andrea's brother (Anthony Mackie)."Meanwhile, a shady American businessman (Bill Paxton) has fled with his daughter to the Islands to avoid federal prosecution, only to be drawn into a dangerous web of deceit. As lives intersect and truths are revealed, a chain reaction of violence is set in motion that will determine whether love can survive the fall of paradise," according to the DVD sleeve's synopsis. It all ends by
stopping.**** Haven (9/11/04) Frank E. Flowers ~ Orlando Bloom, Zoe Saldana, Bill Paxton, Victor Rasuk
Claudio Carvalho
In Cayman Island, the daughter of a powerful man - Andrea (Zoe Saldana) - and the fisherman Shy (Orlando Bloom) are in a deep but secret love, hidden from Andrea's parents. When Andrea's father sails in a fish-trip, they have a night of love at Andrea's home; however they sleep and are surprised by the arrival of her family in the morning. Later, Andrea's brother Hammer (Anthony Mackie) throws acid on the face of Shy and spends four months in prison. In Miami, the dirty businessman Carl Ridley (Bill Paxton) is chased by Federal agents and escapes with his teenage daughter Pippa (Agnes Bruckner) to Cayman Island trying to reach his lawyer Mr. Allen (Stephen Dillane). Pippa meets the small time thief Fritz (Victor Rasuk) sleeping in her room and he invites her to go a party. Before leaving the condo, Fritz sees Carl counting lots of money. Fritz owes money to the dangerous drug dealer Richie Rich (Razaaq Adoti) and tells him about the fortune Carl has. Along a Friday 13th night, their lives entwine in a chain of tragic events."Haven" is an entertaining movie, with a complex non-linear screenplay with many characters that have their lives entwined. There are many credible sub-plots and considering the running time of 99 minutes, the situations and characters are very well-developed. The direction and acting are great, there are many beautiful locations but the screenplay is really top-notch. My vote is seven.Title (Brazil): "Haven"
Indyrod
From the producers of "Crash", this non-linear narrative style movie takes place in the Cayman Islands. Orlando Bloom is caught in a forbidden love affair with an island black girl who's family is dead set against it, threatening not only the affair but his life. Bill Paxton is a rich American who has to flee Miami with his daughter because the feds have caught up with his money laundering in the Caymans. He relocates there quickly but soon becomes involved along with his daughter in some of the nastiness involving the locals. The movie shifts back and forth in time, sometimes repeating scenes towards the end, as all the action and finale happens on a Friday the 13th. Pretty good story, I enjoyed it very much.
dikshant
I had this DVD from a friend for quite some time, but because of its low ratings on IMDb, i just kept pushing it away. Let me tell you i am really glad that i did see this film last night and am very impressed. The most striking feature of this movie is its Direction and Sound. Frank Flowers is a very talented director and i wonder why hasn't he got enough opportunities after this one. The Fact that movie was made in 2004 impresses me the most because of its very contemporary style and techniques. Movie is a plain Scam-thriller and goes about its job of presenting it in an extremely interesting way. The story line is quite simple but presented in a very slick way. You never feel that movie slows down at any point of time and its quite nicely stitched till the very end. Except for some average acting from lesser known actors (not Orlando bloom) in the movie, i cant find too many defects in the movie. I am really looking forward to "Trespasser", the next from Frank. -Dikshant
AD
