Yvaughn
Oh, I did want to like this movie. It didn't matter that it's derivative of "Sleeping with the Enemy," right down to the abandoned abuser finding proof of his "dead" wife's deception that she conveniently--no, foolishly--left behind. (Honestly, if you're going to fake your own death, wouldn't it occur to you to hide all paperwork pertaining to the faking of your own death?) Most people who watch this film are probably drawn by its similarities to SWtE (with the added bonus of a child!)The wife's leaving of damning evidence was only the first of her foolish mistakes, though (if you don't count marrying the crazy man in the first place. Let's assume that some men are good at hiding their abusive tendencies). Her biggest goof is that, after faking her death, she goes into a business (realty) which she advertises by plastering pictures of her face all over advertisements and billboards? I don't appreciate movies with stupid heroines, which made it hard for me to truly like this one. Yes, she's the underdog. And she's played as being smart and tough. But some of her decisions discredited her. It was also hard to believe that her husband would be so obsessed with her after ten years. That was my other problem with this film. The husband character is so very evil, to the point where he's not only coming after his wife; he's coming after her friends as well! It almost feels like a twisted wish-fulfillment for women who mistake obsession for love--she's so great that he'll Never Get Over Her, and in the meantime, she'll have found another Wonderful Guy.I give this 5 points because I liked some of the actors, and the story certainly isn't slow. But unless you throw your suspension of disbelief out the window, you may wish this film had remained hidden away.
Geeky Randy
Typical Lifetime Network nonsense about the victimized woman with terribly poor taste who hopes that running away will solve her problems only to learn the hard way when she gets tracked down. In this shameless outing, we have Vaugier faking her and her daughter's death in an attempt to escape her physically abusive husband. Blah, blah, blah; same old routine: she gets a new life, her daughter grows up not remembering anything, she meets a nice guy (Flanery), the fairy tale ending is just a grasp away, and then all of a sudden the bad guy from the past (Sergei) shows up. This cookie-cutter garbage could be somewhat bearable if it didn't consist of melodrama triggered by acts that would otherwise be considered downright moronic if only the protagonists weren't so unlucky. Nice climax—apparently, any dimwit can be inspired by watching NORTH BY NORTHWEST in film class.*½ (out of four)
wes-connors
For dramatic visual purposes, abused wife Emmanuelle Vaugier (as Stephanie) takes her seven-year-old daughter and heads for the Canadian border in a small boat during the pouring rain while firefighter husband Ivan Sergei (as Andrew Bennett) is out buying some flowers. Probably, he wants to kiss and make-up after viciously throwing Ms. Vaugier around the house. Ten years later, Vaugier is a successful realtor in Palm Springs, CA. She stole another woman's identity and started over (as Alexandra Cole) by faking her death and cashing in on a $250,000 insurance policy. Vaugier is dating handsome art museum assistant director Sean Patrick Flanery (as Brett Collins) while making sure pretty teenage Allie Gonino (as Rachel) isn't out too late with boyfriends...After finding his wife's box hidden in the attic while exterminating raccoons, Mr. Sergei finds evidence suggesting she and step-daughter are alive. Then, we're off to the races. "Hidden Away" is hard to take. For example, they ran into problems with the age of "Sage" if she were a teenager played by an actress past her teens. We're told she "blocked" unpleasantness, but it doesn't ring true. The best course would have been to make her younger, since her parents are a stretch at being ten years older. Sergei almost steals the show by offering a more believable performance than usual for the genre. Thomas Calabro and Elisabeth Rohm lend good support. Director Peter Sullivan does well in buildings, stretching players and shots along spacious horizontals, with depth.***** Hidden Away (7/27/13) Peter Sullivan ~ Emmanuelle Vaugier, Ivan Sergei, Sean Patrick Flanery, Allie Gonino
edwagreen
A very good thriller which is hurt by the fact that at the end of the movie, committing fraud does actually pay despite what the end results are.A mother and daughter fake their deaths to flee from the former's abusive husband. With his insurance money, they move to California and with great investments and becoming a Realtor, life becomes great for the two. The daughter was 7 when all this occurred. Fast forward to 10 years later, the recently laid off guy discovers that they're not dead and follows them to California where the mayhem really begins. This guy is some mental case as he does away with the private investigator he had hired to track the two women and her fellow realty agent falls victim to him as well.Yes, there are tense scenes. Yes, he is diabolical in wiring the house up so he can view what's going on at his computer; nonetheless, the fact that the fraud perpetrated by the wife goes unpunished at film's end is problematic to me.
AD
