![]() For the hard of understanding I'll break this down into simple terms. 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. Reading some of those comments made me in turn annoyed enough to post here for the first time. 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. This is a tight little film that deserves attention. Yes, there are some portions of the film that beg credibility but then that is what delusional thinking is about. 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. Marisa Tomei makes this very difficult, well-written role completely believable. The surprise ending scene is a stunner and one that will haunt the viewer. 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. Danika overcompensates for her fears by being an overprotective mother, an unfortunate trait that begins to fracture her family. 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. She visits a young psychiatrist Evelyn (Regina Hall) who becomes her confidant - the only person who accepts that Danika is witnessing disturbing sights. 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. 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). This is a tough movie to review: almost anything that is said about it diminishes the impact of a fresh look. DANIKA is a story that demands the viewer's careful attention and rewards that attention with a finely wrought surprise ending. 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. For me now, years after seeing it the first time, it's not scary at all unless you stop to consider how vulnerable we are to life throwing us tragedy at any moment and how real mental illness can be. I'm not even a mother yet, but I feel like if and when I am, this will resonate even more. "how do you go on after something like that?" And bravo for being the exact right length, even under 90 minutes. There are some unexplained parts.her daughter's teacher dying, the dog in the pool (for the millionth time can we please stop with the dogs in horror movies?) the fact that there's no real conflict/fear with the middle child for whatever reason. Is it the same thing as "and it was all a dream?" Not really. She had trusted the nanny with her secrets and to take care of her kids, which is why the nanny had the therapist role in her head. Except.what if a girl gave her son AIDS, what if she saw the girl who went missing (newspaper headline in her cart at the end) and didn't save her, like she didn't save her brother. Her mental illness takes a turn, and basically, most of the movie is her delusions of what life would have been like if things had gone on-and happily. She catches her husband with the nanny, possibly kills him, drives off with her kids and gets in an accident (if it is an accident and not an intentional red-light run, which would explain the bomb on he school bus delusion). She hears the bank robbery vaguely in the background on the phone when her boss calls her before she hangs up. We know she has some mental health issues. She became an obsessively overprotective mom as a result. If you're confused: The facts: Danika did lose her brother as a child. I actually am surprised at how much of an impact it had on me now and how much I thoroughly understand what I saw. ![]() ![]() ![]() I went back and watched it today, remembering the ending and certain scenes but not much else and I didn't hold out much hope to get it. I saw this movie when I was 17 and had no idea what the ending meant, back then we didn't have IMDB and there weren't really explanations on google.
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