‘Carjacked’ suffers from poor decision-making

‘Carjacked,’ Anchor Bay’s new direct-to-video release, features the gifted acting talents of Maria Bello and Stephen Dorff. Unfortunately, they are stuck in a not-so-gifted, formulaic movie.

Not much works in this 89-minute exercise. From the stilted script by Michael and Sherry Compton to the weak supporting characters, it’s difficult to feel engaged and latch onto any part of the plot.

Lorraine (Bello) is a struggling single mother in the middle of a custody battle with her ex-husband. She loves her son (Connor Hill), but can’t seem make the right choices to protect him. When she fell asleep on the couch after a long day’s work, he ran out into the street and almost was run over by an ice-cream truck. That incident found Lorraine in a support group with other “angry” mothers trying to get their kids back.

All of this back story is handled nicely by director John Bonito. He gets right to the point and sets up the story within a few minutes.

Of course, with a film named ‘Carjacked,’ something bad needs to happen. That’s when Roy (Dorff) enters the picture and forever changes Lorraine’s life. At a gas station, when Lorraine is buying pizza bagels in a convenience store, Roy slips into the backseat of her car and awaits her return.

Just as Lorraine brings her sordid history to the scenario, so does Roy. He’s just robbed a bank and is looking to evade the scrutiny of the police. Lorraine and her son are his ticket out.

After getting back in the car and having her son unceremoniously tell her that there’s a guy in the backseat, the main plot takes off. Lorraine drives, while Roy points the gun. They talk and eventually learn a little about each other, but there’s no denying that their relationship is forever tied to that loaded gun between them.

The advertising for ‘Carjacked’ paints the movie as an exploitation revenge flick.

“It’s her car. Don’t tell her what to do.”

“He took her car. He took her son. Bad idea.”

Honestly, if the film would have fallen into a cutthroat battle between Roy and Lorraine, ‘Carjacked’ would have been well served. Unfortunately, there are large chunks where the camera simply shows two people talking in a car. Their conversations are never that interesting, and not much is learned. After spending nearly 90 minutes with these people, there’s a clear feeling of who Lorraine is as a person, but Roy remains a mystery. We don’t find out what motivates him, why he stole the money, what his past is like. With so little exposition for one of the pivotal characters, it becomes difficult to care about their outcomes.

Bello and Dorff always keep straight faces, even when speaking strange lines of dialogue and making seemingly ridiculous decisions. On multiple occasions, Lorraine has the chance to dial 9-1-1, but she can’t seem to punch in the correct numbers. Yes, this creates some tension and one wonders what’s going to happen next. But there’s also that cloud of, “Are you kidding me?”

I so wanted to get behind this film. If a little more happened and the actors supporting the two leads were able to keep up the pace, ‘Carjacked’ would have been great. In its current form, the movie feels like a bloated TV drama. Not terrible, but not engaging enough.

By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com

• Carjacked

• 2011

• Directed by John Bonito

• Written by Michael and Sherry Compton

• Starring Maria Bello and Stephen Dorff

• Running time: 89 minutes

• Rated R

• Rating: