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Godsend

I cannot imagine a more horrible fate for a mother than to stand a few yards away from her child and watch as he is killed. Filmmakers Nick Hamm and Mark Bomback however, did think of a fate far worse than this and they will be bringing this parental nightmare to audiences on April 30th with, Godsend.

Jessie Duncan, (Rebecca Romijn-Stamos) Paul Duncan (Greg Kinnear) and little eight year old Adam Duncan(Cameron Bright) are the picture perfect family. They live in a world where there is nothing but love and harmony, where the most pressing issue in their lives is contemplating a change of lifestyle from city to suburban for the sake of raising their child. Even tough Paul and Jessie love their trendy city loft, they're wondering if it would be better for Adam to grow up somewhere with green grass, tall trees, you know the drill.

Before they are even able to make the decision, tragedy strikes when Adam is hit by a car and is killed. Enter renowned yet mysterious Dr. Richard Wells (Robert DeNiro) who may have a way for the Duncan's to bypass the pain and reclaim their son; cloning.

What at first appears to be a timely social commentary quickly becomes an awkward mix of Pet Semetary and Child's Play with a dash of The Omen thrown in for the suspense and the super natural. Admirable performances were given by all, however ultimately the formula for the film and the characters themselves fail to truly grab the audience.

The familial relationships between the Duncan's are so bland, so "aww shucks Beev," that they're not at all compelling or intriguing. It's a family where everyone is always happy, always having dinner together, where the child is given everything he asks for and yet some how remains unspoiled. This, more than the cloning, seemed the most implausible aspect of the film.

Personally, I was hoping for more scenes dealing with the moral and ethical debates over cloning a human being; unfortunately, the movie skates past those questions in favor of focusing almost solely on what would happen if it were done, rather than the question of should it be done.

One thing I will say for the movie is that it doesn't pull at the cheap emotional heart strings to evoke a sympathetic reaction from the audience. I expected the horrifying "dying in mom's arms waiting for the ambulance," scene and of course the always gut wrenching "child sized coffin at the funeral," shot. Thankfully there was none of that to be found in the movie. The filmmakers seemed to have made a conscious choice not to show us the same old same old, which I respect and appreciate. The down side is that the newer ideas that they were trying to present ended up seeming

rather muddled.

The challenge of bringing the mysterious nature of what was happening inside of the Duncan's cloned son as he passed the age that Adam was when he died, was undoubtedly a daunting task. And, sadly as I said before it ended up seeming more like an odd combination of the horror of Stephen King and the ridiculousness of full grown adults being terrified and terrorized by a two foot tall knife-wheelding possessed doll.

The two saving graces to the film are first, of course, Robert DeNiro, who gives his usual outstanding performance. (I think its damn near impossible for me to not enjoy, at least on some level, any movie that he is in.) And secondly there are some twists and turns along with the way that will keep you guessing.

It's not the sharply written intriguing piece that I was expecting which could be clouding my judgment a bit, but I think this one can wait for video.

Movie Grade: C