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Stolen (2009 American film)
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Wikipedia article
'Stolen' is a 2009 American mystery film directed by Anders Anderson and starring Josh Lucas, Jon Hamm and Rhona Mitra.
Plot
Tom Adkins Sr. (Jon Hamm), a police officer, loses his son while briefly leaving him in a bar. Eight years later, he is still struggling with the loss when he and his wife, Barbara (Rhona Mitra) get a call that a childs body has been discovered buried within a suitcase at a construction yard. They assume that their son has been found, but the police forensics unit determines the remains are 50 years old. Seeking redemption from his own sons disappearance, Tom takes on trying to solve the death of this unidentified child.
In 1958, Matthew Wakefield (Josh Lucas) has lost his wife and leaves his elder sons with his sister Cora, and her husband Jonas (Michael Cudlitz). Cora wont take care of Matthews son, John (Jimmy Bennett), because of his cognitive disabilities and so Matthew takes him with as he goes out to look for work.
Matthew finds work at a construction site in a small town, where he finds friends among the fellow laborers, The Swede (Holt McCallany) and Diploma (James Van Der Beek). While out at the bar one night with his friends and son, Matthew meets Rose Montgomery (Morena Baccarin), the wife of a local gas-station owner. Rose seduces John and takes him out behind the bar while John disappears from the car where Matthew had left him sleeping.
Back in the present, Tom is attempting to piece together the details about what happened 50 years ago, despite few surviving witnesses. Matthew's wife, Sally Ann Wakefield (Jessica Chastain), tells Tom that Matthew could never get rid of his own guilt and that John's disappearance may have something to do with Roggiani, the only person who helped Matthew to look for his son.
In 1958, the police chief (Jude Ciccolella) thinks that Matthew is exaggerating and threatens to expose his affair with Rose to her husband. Diploma seemingly helps Matthew search the town, but his behavior is unusual and when Matthew is away, Diploma is seen putting nails into an old suitcase. Meanwhile, Matthew goes to Roses house and threatens her husband, who disparages John and calls him retarded.
In the present, Tom is growing increasingly obsessed with the case and its similarities to his own sons disappearance. Sally Ann shows Tom an old photograph of Matthew, John, and Roggiani, who Tom identifies as Diploma. Tom confronts Diploma about what happened in the spring of 1958.
Diploma reveals he used to work at the building site with Matthew and admits to killing John because he felt the boy was destroying Matthew's life. Diploma says that that boy should have never been born at all. During the interrogation, Tom pushes Diploma, who admits to another killing where he found a boy who had wandered into a fairground where Diploma was playing a clown. He recounts taking the boy and breaking his neck under a tree. It is implied that this was Toms son.
In the conclusion, Tom has solved both murders and recovers the body of his son, buried in the ground under Diplomas mobile home. At the funeral, Tom leans in on his wife and allows himself to break down and cry.
Cast
Production
The film was conceived as 'The Boy in the Box' and was later renamed 'Stolen Lives'. In January 2010, IFC Films acquired the rights of the theatrical release and renamed the film 'Stolen'.[http://shocktillyoudrop.com/news/topnews.php?id=13975 IFC Films Acquires Stolen Lives For Distro]
Release
'Stolen' was released on March 3, 2010 as Video on Demand and in a limited theatrical release on March 12.[http://www.ifcfilms.com/inside-ifc-films/stolen-starring-jon-hamm-josh-lucas-acquired STOLEN, Starring Jon Hamm & Josh Lucas Acquired]
Reception
Upon release, the film was universally panned by critics. On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, with 20 reviews, the film has a rare approval rating of 0%meaning no favorable reviews whatsoeverreceiving an average rating of 3.6/10.
References
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