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Shades of Fear

Shades of Fear

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Product Info Reviews

Features:
  • Color
  • Closed-captioned


Description:

When Gabriel (Rakie Ayola) sets out from her native Granada for a new life in England aboard a cruise ship, she has no idea of the intrigues (and love) in store for her. It begins when she must share her cabin with a mysterious man named Duncan Stewart (Jonathan Pryce), who is recognized by Rex Goodyear (John Hurt) as the man who murdered his wife and stole from him a priceless painting, the only two things he's ever loved. What follows is a cloak-and-dagger style conceit that fails to engage the viewer to the extent that it seems to try. The problem is that one can't figure out whether one's watching a romantic comedy or an uplifting drama. Of course a film can be both, but the shortcoming here is that it's neither: it's not funny enough to be a comedy, and its attempts at being cute absolutely undermine its attempts at being uplifting drama. One place the film does succeed is with the island scenes that bookend the story--they are moving and impressive, even if they do seem part of a different film. Perhaps this film does have an audience, however: if you're a fan of television whodunits, there is a very good chance you'll love it. --James McGrath
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