Danika (2005) Reviews

• A misunderstood movie or "How stupid are you people?"

  furrygothfather2007-08-24

  It seems that many people couldn't understand this movie and were unwilling to accept their own limitations and therefore decided the movie was to blame. Reading some of those comments made me in turn annoyed enough to post here for the first time. The short version for those who haven't seen the movie is there is no 'twist' in the now common cinematic style there is only the version inside Danika's head and the revelation of the reality. For the hard of understanding I'll break this down into simple terms. DO NOT READ THIS IF YOU HAVEN'T YET SEEN THE MOVIE. There are basically only 3 scenes in this movie. 1) Danika's fantasy life where she rejects the terrible thing that happened to her and tries to substitute her own reality. It doesn't work for her, she sees glimmers of reality through it (herself as a bag-lady, her "brother" dying from her "Mothers" neglect which is clearly her own guilt and many more). If you are looking for the reality of the movie imagine this is what is going through her head as she sits on the bench at the end of the movie. 2) The event that caused the break down, killing her kids. It is as though she is remembering the truth sitting on that bench but it is too painful for her and she quickly retreats back to the fantasy (her kids come back to life and join her and her husband) 3) The real world present day where she is down and out listening to parts of scene one and scene two replay in her head constantly courtesy of her Schizophrenia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schizophrenia) The whole film up into the last scene is there to give you an impression of what being her and being schizophrenic is. She completely believes her version of reality and the only way to share that impression with the viewer is to "lie" that this is the reality of the film right up until the final scene. So yes this film has no plot, it's a snapshot of an insane mind. Yes Danika's over protective soccer mom persona is fundamentally unlikable but that person never existed, she is a reflection of her very real guilt over causing the death of her children. The hallucinations within the scene one fantasy are perhaps the weakest part of the film, they are used as tool to keep a viewer interested long enough to see the film through and while the provide clues that nothing else that is happening is real or at least that there is some level of menatl issue. They do perhaps serve to confuse more than illuminate in some situations. They are however representative of the way a schizophrenic's beliefs may vary and may represent her additional fears and paranoia. In short you are not ever likely to see a film that will give a better impression of what its like to be insane in this fashion (i.e. believing scene 1 is some kind of reality) but if you can't handle a film that does not have a completely sequential plot, or a writer changing the 'rules' of a film to make a point this will be wasted on you.

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• An Impressive Thriller

  gradyharp2006-12-31

  Relatively new cinematic team of director Ariel Vromen and writer Joshua Leibner pounce onto the scene with a surprisingly fine little film that has basically gone unnoticed. DANIKA is a story that demands the viewer's careful attention and rewards that attention with a finely wrought surprise ending. This is a tough movie to review: almost anything that is said about it diminishes the impact of a fresh look. Danika (the superb and grossly underused actress Marisa Tomei) is a beautiful, well-dressed successful professional woman, loved by her husband Randy (Craig Bierko) and her children Kurt (Kyle Gallner), Lauren (Nicki Prian) and Brian (Ridge Canipe). Yet even from the opening scenes we can tell something is amiss: Danika 'sees' disturbing things, terrifying events and people that alter her attention to her job and her family. She visits a young psychiatrist Evelyn (Regina Hall) who becomes her confidant - the only person who accepts that Danika is witnessing disturbing sights. A mixture of critical pieces of disastrous events flash before Danika's eyes as well as flashbacks to some years back when her children were young. Danika overcompensates for her fears by being an overprotective mother, an unfortunate trait that begins to fracture her family. The pace of the film changes to rapid fire events as the reasons for Danika's visions become clear: we finally see just what made this brilliant and strong woman the victim of a terrified and disturbed psyche and the manner in which each of the characters in the story impacts this discovery is well-illuminated. The surprise ending scene is a stunner and one that will haunt the viewer. Marisa Tomei makes this very difficult, well-written role completely believable. She is an actress of enormous gifts. Likewise the remainder of the cast offers such fine ensemble work that credit must be given director Ariel Vromen for being a young talent on the rise. Yes, there are some portions of the film that beg credibility but then that is what delusional thinking is about. This is a tight little film that deserves attention. Grady Harp

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• Great Psychological Thriller

  matt-mclaughlin2006-06-13

  I saw Danika's world premiere at the CineVegas film festival this past weekend. It was an excellent psychological thriller with many twists and turns. Marisa Tomei is exceptionally convincing in the lead role as a soccer mom tortured by visions which could be premonitions or hallucinations. The action in the movie intersperses tension-building dialog and dramatically shocking visuals with tremendous effectiveness. The supporting cast is also exceptional in the roles and convince you of the impact that Danika's visions are having upon them. Regina Hall is especially impressive as Danika's psychologist. I would highly recommend seeking this movie out if it comes to a festival or theater near you!

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• Only enjoyable because of Marisa Tomei's performance

  Milo-Jeeder2007-09-05

  Let's see: I had great expectations towards this film, since Danika pretty much has the potential to be a fairly enjoyable thriller, but to my disappointment, it turned out to be one of those films that deliberately try to be confusing just for kicks. I don't know about the others, but I'd say I had my share of these kinds of psychological thrillers that usually lead to the same disappointing endings and nonsensical sequences. You know, the typical soft-horror/thriller/drama flick in which the main character keeps having hallucinations and visions about horrible things happening around her and the rest of the characters are dead worried but they still don't do anything to help her out. Even though Ariel Vromen succeeds to create a puzzling atmosphere and there are two or three enjoyable moments, I'd say that these 'twist in the end' fever has been pretty much overdone already. This film pretty much offers a nice variety of pointless hallucination sequences in which Marisa Tomei, giving a flawless performance, always repeats the same situations but in different scenarios. Obviously, it ends up getting tedious after a a while. 'Danika' is the story of a genuinely desperate housewife, whose main fear is to lose one of her children or the three of them, for that matter. This obsession of overprotecting her kids, turns out to be the result of a traumatic childhood experience, in which poor little Danika loses her brother in a road accident. During the course of the film, the mentally unstable woman, appears basically smothering her children and over-worrying about every little thing, making the rest of her family lose their patience. However, it is clear to Danika that something is definitely not okay with her, as she realizes that she's experiencing weird hallucinations that turn her life into hell on earth. This film offers a few sequences that promise some sort of explanation whatsoever or at least a tiny little connection to the end. Nevertheless, just like many other recent flicks out there with a twist in the end, 'Danika' turned out to be ambiguous for no reason and it tries to deceive the audience and doubt about their own intelligence. My advice is to avoid this film, unless you are bored and you have nothing else to see. I wouldn't label it as 'unwatchable', because that would be unfair, considering that there are a few good things that deserve to be appreciated, but it's mostly Marisa Tomei's performance actually. 'Danika' is not terribly bad, but frankly, I was utterly disappointed when the good atmosphere and the few achievements were suddenly overshadowed by the silly ending. I wouldn't recommend this... sorry.

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• Disturbingly Brilliant

  leighanna-mccaleb2007-01-20

  I watched quite a few films last year, and "Danika" made it to the top of my list for intellectual quality and brilliance. It's hard to comment on it without giving away details and spoilers, so let me just say, this movie takes your full attention (don't cook dinner and try to keep up!) Tomei is NEVER a disappointment. It's a wonder she isn't in more films these days. She is a little older than her fresh-faced "Only You" days, but time has settled kindly on her, giving her more character instead of so-called 'flaws.' The ending will leave you in somewhat of a stunned silence, and then you will sit there and watch all of the loose ends tie themselves neatly together. You will not walk away from this movie confused or wondering what it was all about - unless you weren't paying close attention all along. I admit, there will be boo-hooers who dislike it because they haven't the patience or the depth to grasp the true meaning behind this film, but this is why Danika is a work of art and it's star a true artist. If it were neat and pat like any good mainstream film, it wouldn't be the hidden jewel that it is. Many will pass it by, others will scoff and tear it apart. Let them. Those who grasp it will be those who tend to think a bit deeper than the first layer of the onion. Danika is a piece of abstract art - viewing it from different angles, you will see details that aren't visible to the casual onlooker. Not for the squeamish, pick it up sometime and give it the credit it deserves!

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