Shattered (film)
Encyclopedia
Shattered is a 1991
Hitchcockian
neo-noir
/psychological thriller
starring Tom Berenger
, Greta Scacchi
, Bob Hoskins
, Joanne Whalley
and Corbin Bernsen
. It was directed and written for the screen by Wolfgang Petersen
, based on the novel by Richard Neely.
plays Dan Merrick, a man who at the film's start gets himself into a horrible car wreck off a mountain road. The impact causes brain damage for Merrick, which results in complete amnesia
. After undergoing surgery to repair his disfigured face, Merrick tries to reintegrate back into his normal life. However, flashback
s of events he can't remember keep popping into his mind and this leads him to a dark secret no one wants him to know. Filled with twists and turns, the film is reminiscent of the classic noir
films of the 1940s. Its surprise revelation at the film's climax has given the film a cult status
amongst viewers.
It is later revealed that Judith Merrick was having an affair. When she and her lover got into a bad car accident, her lover's face was transformed so that he looked like her husband. In the mean time, her real husband was murdered...shot to death in front of her lover.
The film's twist ending has caused a division among the responses given by critics. Several critics find the revelation too ridiculous to accept, while others find it inventive and clever. Roger Ebert
falls into the former category, stating that the film's resolution is "inconceivably implausible," and that the "screenplay is too clever by half." However, he goes onto say that this quality "is always sort of fun." About.com
falls into the later category, calling the finale "a killer twist ending!" and the Washington Post says, "It would be disastrous to even hint at the movie's denouement; a critic could get lynched for giving away an ending as shockingly unexpected as the one here. Let's just say that it blows the top of your head off." Despite this division, critics generally hold the film's surprise denouement as unexpected and startling, though whether it is too clever for its own good is debatable and left up to the viewer.
1991 in film
The year 1991 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*April 28 - Bonnie Raitt marries actor Michael O'Keefe in New York* Terminator 2: Judgment Day, became one of the landmarks for science fiction action films with its groundbreaking visual effects from Industrial Light & Magic.*November...
Hitchcockian
Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
neo-noir
Neo-noir
Neo-noir is a style often seen in modern motion pictures and other forms that prominently utilize elements of film noir, but with updated themes, content, style, visual elements or media that were absent in films noir of the 1940s and 1950s.-History:The term Film Noir was coined by...
/psychological thriller
Psychological thriller
Psychological thriller is a specific sub-genre of the broad ranged thriller with heavy focus on characters. However, it often incorporates elements from the mystery and drama genre, along with the typical traits of the thriller genre...
starring Tom Berenger
Tom Berenger
Tom Berenger is an American actor known mainly for his roles in action films.-Early life:Berenger was born as Thomas Michael Moore in Chicago to an Irish Catholic family. Berenger's father was a printer for the Chicago Sun-Times. Berenger has a sister, Susan...
, Greta Scacchi
Greta Scacchi
Greta Scacchi is an Italian-Australian actor.-Early life:Scacchi was born Greta Gracco in Milan, Italy, on 18 February 1960, the daughter of Luca Scacchi Gracco, an Italian art dealer and painter, and Pamela Carsaniga, an English dancer and antiques dealer...
, Bob Hoskins
Bob Hoskins
Robert William "Bob" Hoskins, Jr. is an English actor known for playing Cockney rough diamonds, psychopaths and gangsters, in films such as The Long Good Friday , and Mona Lisa , and lighter roles in family films such as Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Hook .- Early life :Hoskins was born in Bury St...
, Joanne Whalley
Joanne Whalley
-Early life:Whalley was born in Salford but brought up in Stockport where she studied at the Braeside School of Speech and Drama, Marple.Whalley first appeared as a child in How We Used To Live and bit parts in soap operas, especially Coronation Street and Emmerdale...
and Corbin Bernsen
Corbin Bernsen
Corbin Dean Bernsen is an American actor and director, known for his work on television. He is best known for his roles as divorce attorney Arnold Becker on the NBC drama series L.A. Law, and as retired police detective Henry Spencer on the USA Network comedy-drama series Psych...
. It was directed and written for the screen by Wolfgang Petersen
Wolfgang Petersen
Wolfgang Petersen is a German film director and screenwriter. His films include The NeverEnding Story, Enemy Mine, Outbreak, In the Line of Fire, Air Force One, The Perfect Storm, Troy, and Poseidon...
, based on the novel by Richard Neely.
Plot summary
Tom BerengerTom Berenger
Tom Berenger is an American actor known mainly for his roles in action films.-Early life:Berenger was born as Thomas Michael Moore in Chicago to an Irish Catholic family. Berenger's father was a printer for the Chicago Sun-Times. Berenger has a sister, Susan...
plays Dan Merrick, a man who at the film's start gets himself into a horrible car wreck off a mountain road. The impact causes brain damage for Merrick, which results in complete amnesia
Amnesia
Amnesia is a condition in which one's memory is lost. The causes of amnesia have traditionally been divided into categories. Memory appears to be stored in several parts of the limbic system of the brain, and any condition that interferes with the function of this system can cause amnesia...
. After undergoing surgery to repair his disfigured face, Merrick tries to reintegrate back into his normal life. However, flashback
Flashback (psychological phenomenon)
A flashback, or involuntary recurrent memory, is a psychological phenomenon in which an individual has a sudden, usually powerful, re-experiencing of a past experience or elements of a past experience. These experiences can be happy, sad, exciting, or any other emotion one can consider...
s of events he can't remember keep popping into his mind and this leads him to a dark secret no one wants him to know. Filled with twists and turns, the film is reminiscent of the classic noir
Film noir
Film noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and sexual motivations. Hollywood's classic film noir period is generally regarded as extending from the early 1940s to the late 1950s...
films of the 1940s. Its surprise revelation at the film's climax has given the film a cult status
Cult film
A cult film, also commonly referred to as a cult classic, is a film that has acquired a highly devoted but specific group of fans. Often, cult movies have failed to achieve fame outside the small fanbases; however, there have been exceptions that have managed to gain fame among mainstream audiences...
amongst viewers.
It is later revealed that Judith Merrick was having an affair. When she and her lover got into a bad car accident, her lover's face was transformed so that he looked like her husband. In the mean time, her real husband was murdered...shot to death in front of her lover.
Cast
- Tom BerengerTom BerengerTom Berenger is an American actor known mainly for his roles in action films.-Early life:Berenger was born as Thomas Michael Moore in Chicago to an Irish Catholic family. Berenger's father was a printer for the Chicago Sun-Times. Berenger has a sister, Susan...
as Dan Merrick/Jack Stanton - Greta ScacchiGreta ScacchiGreta Scacchi is an Italian-Australian actor.-Early life:Scacchi was born Greta Gracco in Milan, Italy, on 18 February 1960, the daughter of Luca Scacchi Gracco, an Italian art dealer and painter, and Pamela Carsaniga, an English dancer and antiques dealer...
as Judith Merrick - Bob HoskinsBob HoskinsRobert William "Bob" Hoskins, Jr. is an English actor known for playing Cockney rough diamonds, psychopaths and gangsters, in films such as The Long Good Friday , and Mona Lisa , and lighter roles in family films such as Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Hook .- Early life :Hoskins was born in Bury St...
as Gus Klien - Joanne WhalleyJoanne Whalley-Early life:Whalley was born in Salford but brought up in Stockport where she studied at the Braeside School of Speech and Drama, Marple.Whalley first appeared as a child in How We Used To Live and bit parts in soap operas, especially Coronation Street and Emmerdale...
as Jenny Scott - Corbin BernsenCorbin BernsenCorbin Dean Bernsen is an American actor and director, known for his work on television. He is best known for his roles as divorce attorney Arnold Becker on the NBC drama series L.A. Law, and as retired police detective Henry Spencer on the USA Network comedy-drama series Psych...
as Jeb Scott - Scott Getlin as Jack Stanton (former)
Critical reception
On Rotten tomatoes, the movie has scored 31% from 13 reviews.The film's twist ending has caused a division among the responses given by critics. Several critics find the revelation too ridiculous to accept, while others find it inventive and clever. Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
falls into the former category, stating that the film's resolution is "inconceivably implausible," and that the "screenplay is too clever by half." However, he goes onto say that this quality "is always sort of fun." About.com
About.com
About.com is an online source for original information and advice. It is written in English, and is aimed primarily at North Americans. It is owned by The New York Times Company....
falls into the later category, calling the finale "a killer twist ending!" and the Washington Post says, "It would be disastrous to even hint at the movie's denouement; a critic could get lynched for giving away an ending as shockingly unexpected as the one here. Let's just say that it blows the top of your head off." Despite this division, critics generally hold the film's surprise denouement as unexpected and startling, though whether it is too clever for its own good is debatable and left up to the viewer.
Technical notes
- Awards: Deauville Film Festival - Nominated - Critics Award.
- Film Locations:
- Oregon: Nehalem, Tillamook County; Oswald West State Park; Neahkahnie Mountain.
- California: Mount Tamalpais State Park, Marin County; City and County of San Francisco; Sausalito, Marin County.
- Release Date: October 11, 1991
- Box Office:
- Opening Weekend: $3,457,105 (1,286 theaters, $2,688 average)
- Total Gross: $11,511,031
- Songs Used:
- Nights in White SatinNights in White Satin"Nights in White Satin" is a 1967 single by The Moody Blues, written by Justin Hayward and first featured on the album Days of Future Passed.It is in the key of E minor Aeolian.-Single releases:...
by The Moody BluesThe Moody BluesThe Moody Blues are an English rock band. Among their innovations was a fusion with classical music, most notably in their 1967 album Days of Future Passed.... - Hacienda Source by Ashley Irwin
- Nights in White Satin
Trivia
- The video cassette box for Shattered can be seen in the movie The RingThe Ring (2002 film)The Ring is a 2002 American psychological horror film directed by Gore Verbinski and starring Naomi Watts and Martin Henderson. It is a remake of the 1998 Japanese horror film Ring....
(2002), in the log cabin scene. - Plastic surgeon George Herbert Semel, M.D., not only served as a medical adviser on the film, but also played the plastic surgeon.
- Nineteen stunt people were utilized in the film's stunt work.
- The film is rated R13 in New Zealand.