Stolen Lives

A well-made drama that sucks you in. The story is dark, fairly realistic and mainly is a great idea. The two storylines, separated from each other by a chasm of 50 years, almost unbelievably blend into one. I really am pleased with this. Bring on more of this kind of modest small gem. (02/07/2010)

This film is, unfortunately, rightfully slightly neglected and a bit on the back burner compared to well-known classics like Prisoners or Mystic River. It's about a mysterious murder, or the search for both the victim and the murderer in the present. But only about ten percent of it is set in the present, the rest is flashbacks. We don't learn from the story whether the main character's son was deliberately chosen by the killer to test his abilities or by accident, but it is through the investigation that the pieces of the killer's identity gradually reveal a much more complex and broader story than it first appears. Based on this, the film should be at least 120-130 minutes long to allow all the characters to stand out, because there are plenty of them. Unfortunately, only the main ones manage it, and a lot of digressions and side themes and motives remain unfinished or very abridged. The whole thing is bogged down by an ending that could have been heart-attack inducing but instead is cut down to a three-minute conversation with a clear outcome. Terrible shame about the work of the editors and the screenwriter who shat the bed at the end of the film. The potential for a chilling crime-drama was there and stories like this always find their audience. It's terrific anyway, if only for the rather sophisticated construction of the story, the ending of which I wanted to experience but much longer and more intensely. (20/09/2017)