A Perfect Getaway

Directed by: DavidTwohy

Starring: Steve Zhan, Timothy Olyphant, Milla Jovovich, Kiele Sanchez

Synopsis:

Newlyweds Cliff and Cydney (Zhan/Jovovich) are on their honeymoon, island hopping around Hawaii. Deciding to take a nature trail to a remote beach, they soon cross paths with another couple, Kale and Cleo, who seem a bit dangerous. Luckily they also run into Nick and Gina, another couple who know the area quite well. On the trail they meet some girls who tell them that there was a couple of newlyweds murdered on the island they’d just come from, and Cliff and Cydney start wondering if their erstwhile saviours might be the killers...



Review:

David Twohy, directing from his own script, has produced one of the more interesting thrillers of the year thanks to a late-on twist in the tale but the build-up is so slow that he might have lost some of his audience before he gets there.

It is a very leisurely pace as we follow Cliff, Cydney, Nick and Gina as they make their way along the nature trail. As Cliff is a screenwriter, there is a lot of talk of such things as red herrings and false endings and three-act structure, which act as knowing winks to the audience that not everything is as it seems. Along the way are a couple of encounters with Kale and Cleo which provide a tiny amount of unease – they certainly act as you would imagine serial killers to act.

What will warm people to the movie are the excellent characters of Cliff and Nick, pretty much polar opposites in their life experiences. Nick was in Iraq and ended up with a steel plate in his skull – Cliff is having his first screenplay produced in Canada. Cydney is in love with being married (by the way I hardly recognised Milla Jovovich - she is a million miles from her usual screen personas), while Gina is hoping that one day Nick will come to his senses and propose to her.

To say much more about A Perfect Getaway would spoil it’s delights. Suffice to say that things ramp up to a higher gear once the gang get to their beach and things get very tense very quickly and the audience is forced to look at previous events from a whole new angle. Also, the movie ends on a one-liner that is sure to make you laugh.

Verdict:

If you can forgive the early slow pace, you will be rewarded with an excellent finale. Zhan and Olyphant inparticular are excellent, while Jovovich is at her most natural, and the scenery will have you wanting to go to Hawaii.

7 out of 10 (MikeOutwest)