What’s it rated? R
When? 2024
Where’s it showing? Hulu
Brad Anderson (The Machinist, Fractured) directs Dan Hall’s debut script about reckless but effective Boston Detective Frank Shaw (Joel Kinnaman), who was seriously injured on the job, leading to increasing hearing loss. Sixteen months after the accident, Shaw is beginning to question his ability to do his job. When his ex-partner, Doug Slater (Mark Strong), catches a double murder case with a deaf witness named Ava Fremont (Sandra Mae Frank) and the American Sign Language interpreter isn’t available, he coaxes his reluctant ex-partner to take her statement.
Soon, however, the murderers arrive to make sure Ava can never testify, leaving Shaw to protect her in the multi-storied but near-empty building that’s scheduled to be condemned. Outnumbered and outgunned, and unable to hear them coming, what follows is an effective cat-and-mouse thriller with a subtextual treatise on disability and power to overcome it.
It’s not a perfect film, but solid performances and effective direction kept me interested. It becomes a little clichĆ© as we discover who’s behind the murders and why, with a few overly telegraphed twists, but if you have Hulu or Disney+ and like action thrillers, it’s there for the watching. (99 min.) Ī
This article appears in Mar 13-23, 2025.