The Cry of the Owl

Paddy Considine as Robert Forrester is very good here. He is a man going through an at-fault divorce, Caroline Dhavernas is irritating as ex- wife Nikki. He relocates and changes jobs from New York City to get away from her and start over. He thinks.

The story of a hapless man, he tries to do his best but married to an albatross like Nicki who pokes fun at him at a divorce mediation, he eventually leaves NYC to find a fork in the road...he chooses a Northeast Pennsylvania town, where he works for Lavigne aeronautics and seems to settle.

He sort of stalks Julia Stiles "Jenny Thierault", by watching her for a month at her rural house, she seems happy in life and this gives him a semblance of hope for his own new life. Stiles is very good here as instead of rejecting Robert as unstable, as he is watching her from her backyard, she says "depression can crush you" and invites him for coffee. He takes this as empathy, and is surprised she is interested in him at this point.

As things develop we feel for Robert who is going through divorce and suddenly realizes his minor interest in Jenny, is (to Jenny at least ) a true romance. She appears to be a borderline personality, she understands depression, but also becomes attached too quickly to any man who appears. She dumps her brutish boyfriend (Greg Wyncoop) and begins to pursue Robert more vehemently. At first he hides, then submits to her for the physical benefit. Her girlfriend sees Jenny as needing protection, and warns Robert not to hurt her.

Robert knows, deep down it is wrong, but when he tries to confront Jenny after they spend a night together she starts making blueberry pancakes and telling Robert if she were to be on death row this is her favorite last meal, and she'd want to hear vintage Louis Armstrong.

The photography and foreshadowing is noteworthy here.The cry of the owl resounds one night they are in bed together and Jenny is jolted awake. It's nuanced, which may be why (unfortunately ), it was not as widely distributed. The minor suspense points here are similar to Hitchcock, and very rare in film made in Hollywood today, sadly.

This is an excellent suspense film. Even Julia Styles, who I rememberer from only a few previous performances, is perfect here as Jenny, attractive but lost, a winsome sad smile, and need for ...love or something more. Considine also, despite how he befalls the horrible fate, being wrongfully accused of murder etc., is sympathetic in that he is overcoming a breakdown (from his ex-wife goading him).

There is a twist I will not reveal which will make you want to read all of Patricia Highsmith's short stories. "The Cry of The Owl" is haunting and real. 10/10.

I have never read the novel, nor heard of the movie. After reading some of the reviews here, I decided to give it a shot. And I have to say, I do not regret it.

This is a very dark movie with disturbed main characters, greatly acted by Robert Considine and Julia Stiles. This isn't your typical fast-paced Hollywood thriller. I consider this movie to be "different", the plot develops slowly and is very unpredictable, which makes it in my opinion very enjoyable.

I totally recommend this movie to anyone, who likes dramas / thrillers with a dark touch, and enjoys great acting.

I give it a 7 out of 10.

Robert Forrester (Paddy Considine) is struggling to divorce his vengeful wife Nickie (Caroline Dhavernas), and he starts peeping in on the simple isolated life of Jenny Thierolf (Julia Stiles). Then she catches him one night, but she invites him in. The stalker becomes the stalkee as Jenny breaks up with her fiancé Greg. Greg decides to fight Robert one night. Robert wins and leaves a drunken unconscious Greg by the side of a river. Soon after, Greg is reported missing and Robert is a suspect.

It's a good idea of dysfunctional people finding each other. Director Jamie Thraves just doesn't have the skills to elevate the tension and the drama. There is a lack of moody atmosphere that this movie desperately needs. I love all the actors involved especially Paddy. Dhavernas may be miscast as the bitch. That role needs a darker tougher chick. The potential is there, but the execution is lacking.

Coming from the viewpoint of a person who had neither heard of this movie or known of the novel, I was pleasantly surprised. The story in itself was cleverly presented by exceptional acting. This is not a Hollywood blockbuster by any means but was effective. The music and cinematography were nothing special but still feel like this complimented a compelling story. After watching I do feel like there were a few psychological undertones to this film that leave you with an uneasy feeling while watching. All of the characters were highly developed and nearing the end you will understand what I mean. For a movie many have never heard of, I would recommend it without a doubt.

Saw this movie on TV the other day and was really impressed with it. I'm becoming a Paddy Considine fan after seeing some of his other movies and I was not let down by his performance in this. He portrays Robert Forster, a quiet and melancholy man sneaking a peek (quite literally) into a world in which he sees some peace, happiness and a lil escape from his otherwise tortured existence. Julia Stiles, which I had seen but was more familiar with her teen movie career was very surprising. Not only because I hadn't seen her in anything for a while but seeing her in something like this was not what I had expected. Her performance was great and had me convinced that she was in fact as mysterious (and possibly unbalanced) as Forster. This film was well directed, well acted and had a pace that had me interested and wondering what was going to happen next. It had the feel of a Hitchcock film and is a top notch thriller in my book. Some may not have the patience for a film like this because it's not riddled with action or CGI but there's a good story in there, and I'll take a movie with a story to tell any day.