Moral Assessment + Abhorrent + + Disturbing + + + Acceptable + + + + Wholesome + + + + + Exemplary Technical Assessment • Poor • • Below average • • • Average • • • • Above average • • • • • Excellent CINEMA Rating Guide VA For viewers of all ages V13 For viewers age 13 and below with parental guidance V14 For viewers 14 and above V18 For mature viewers 18 and above NP Not for public viewing

Title: DOMESTIC DISTURBANCE Running Time:  88 min Lead Cast: John Travolta, Vince Vaughn, Teri Polo, Matthew O'Leary, Steve Buscemi Director:  Harold Becker Producer:  Jonathan Krane Screenwriter:  Lewis Colick Music: Mark Mancina Editor:  Peter Honess Genre: Drama/Thriller Cinematography:  Michael Seresin Distributor: Paramount Pictures Location:  Wellington, N.C., USA Technical Assessment:  • • • Moral Assessment:  + + + CINEMA Rating:   For viewers 14 and above   A disturbed 12-year old, Danny (Matthew O'Leary), is caught between his divorced parents: Frank (John Tavolta) and Susan (Teri Polo) who is remarried to Rick, a newcomer in town.  Every inch looking like a wholesome, successful gentleman, Rick wins the admiration of everbody—everybody except Danny who witnesses him brutally murder his own buddy.  Danny runs to his father to confess, giving Frank all the details.  An investigation follows, but his story is dismissed by the police as another lie, just like the ones he has told in the past to win his parents' attention.  His mother, naively in love with Rick, wouldn't believe a word he says.  His father has his doubts.  The police wouldn't bother to spend on forensics over the tall tale "of a sick child," and his debonnaire stepfather is a born actor.   So the boy continues to live with his mother and the murderer. Domestic Disturbance is one movie where the actors obviously take their roles very seriously. And when the line is blurred between actor and role, the viewer can easily get carried away, so that despite the story's predictability, the viewer can still "enjoy the stress" that this child-in-terror movie produces.  Sounds and the background music do much to make the screenplay scary enough to keep the hypertensive teetering at the edge of their seats. The pacing is also just right for creating tension particularly in the chase, and while it seems to be slow at the beginning, there are really no wasted scenes in the movie.  Everything contributes to making the movie a highly credible facsimile of real life. Due to its high-tension moments, Domestic Disturbance is not a movie for the family's Saturday entertainment.  However, it has the elements of a good conversation piece among mom, dad and kids. What merits the attention of viewers, especially of families wanting to watch Domestic Disturbance, are the issues reflective of the evils of divorce.  While divorce is not the issue in this movie, the viewer intelligent enough to listen between the lines (so to speak) would at once agree that when parents separate, it is the child who is the biggest victim. Other topics worthy of dinner table talk are: the love between father and son, the desperation of remarrying mothers for a man, lack of competence in the police force, and most the importance of having a reputation for honesty.   (Date reviewed: February 1, 2002)