Vince Vaughn’s portrayal as a crazed criminal disguised as an upstanding business man steals the limelight from John Travolta’s turn as a concerned father in the new thriller, “Domestic Disturbance.”
Director Harold Becker revisits familiar territory, featuring a strong child character burdened with the truth, as he did in his earlier film, “Mercury Rising.” Becker has also directed the suspenseful flicks “Taps,” “City Hall” and “Malice.”
The burdened child in this case is Danny Morrison (Matthew O’Leary), an 11-year-old coping with his parents divorce and his mother’s impending wedding to town newcomer, Rick Barnes. Add in father Frank’s desperate attempts to remain his son’s role model and mother Susan’s (Teri Polo) loss of control over Danny’s behavior to reveal a true family disturbance.
As Barnes and Susan tie the knot, shady character Ray Coleman (Steve Buscemi) appears. Buscemi’s appearance although decent, is a predictable cue for viewers to know where the story is heading. Buscemi’s affinity for being the “bad guy” in most of his films leads to some uninspired and reverberated acting as the sketchy Coleman.
As Rick Barnes, Vaughn gives a poised performance as an apparent do-gooder who is really hiding from his deviant past. Vaughn’s acting skills allow him to convincingly portray Barnes’ sickeningly slick veneer of perfection that covers his quiet conniving. Travolta, however, is lost in the heroic father stereotype of Frank Morrison’s character. His repeated attempts harassing the police and trusting his less-than-honest son are done with little emotion from Travolta.
The best acting seen from Travolta as Morrison is some gritty fight scenes where the Maine boat maker shows he can throw a mean punch. An interesting anecdote during filming in North Carolina was that Buscemi, Vaughn and the director were involved in a bloody bar brawl. Travolta may have gotten some good acting tips from his co-stars for those scenes.
Sadly enough Polo, as the only lead female in the entire film, is trapped in a character so oblivious, passive and downright weak that when she finally fights back to defend her son it is completely unbelievable.
Matthew O’Leary’s take as rebellious schoolboy who uses lies to garner attention from both parents is average for a newcomer to acting. His gasps of fright in response to Barnes’ violent threats, may have been a little too dramatic, but overall he is convincing as an unhappy child of divorce.
As a thriller, “Domestic Disturbance” has some jolting surprises that catch the audience off-guard. The characters, however, could be written a little more fuller to bring an interesting plot to life.
“Domestic Disturbance” opens at theaters nationwide today.
