White Noise

 

Title	-	White Noise
My Admission	-	$3.00
One Line Review	-	At Least It Has Michael Keaton In It.

 

Review – White Noise is not as interesting as it should have been.  Too much distance from the ghost story, I think, really did it in for me.  The acting was fine, the direction ok, and the visuals kept me hoping, but in the end…it’s just weak.

Michael Keaton (Mr. Mom, Clean and Sober) and Deborah Kara Unger ( ? ) star in this would-be ghost story turned limp mystery thriller.   Keaton plays architect, Johnathan Rivers while Unger (I forget her name) runs a bookstore (I think).  Both have suffered the recent loss of a loved one and through Ian McNeice find that their departed loved ones are trying to contact them from beyond the grave.

This contact comes through EVP (Electronic Voice Phenomenon).  Basically it’s picking up the voices of the dead through radio or television airwaves.  It’s a bit strange but authentic, there’s support groups and scientific study groups exploring the subject…Seriously.  I thought I hated static before, now I have a reason to be terrified of it.  I thought I was over the whole, “They’re here.” bit

I mean it really seems like an interesting story idea; but I thought the same thing about “Flatliners”.  It comes as no surprise that what the dead are trying to accomplish isn’t all that compelling and the movie turns from ghost story into a mess of other genres and just looses it’s ability to effectively turn the audience on.

Directed by Geoffrey Sax, whose credits include a few films with Tom Selleck, does a capable job of direction.  Nothing amazing, but it’s certainly not bad.  There’s some good CGI work, some good acting, a scare or two, and the film’s ending sequence location is really well shot.

I so wanted to like White Noise.  I can’t recommend it to anyone for it’s quality of story or content but I really like Michael Keaton (and I kinda look like his younger brother) so I want to promote his work.  It may be a stoopid reason to tell anyone to see the film but give it a chance sometime and see if it does anything for you.  I mean it had potential and though it may have blown that it’s still got Michael Keaton.

-m-