So it is with something of a pang that Bacon's fans will see him bestow his presence on Stir of Echoes: an efficient and entertaining ghost story updated from an old tale by Richard Matheson, who wrote the screenplay for The Incredible Shrinking Man and the novel on which Spielberg based Duel.īacon plays Tom, a blue-collar Chicago guy who works for the telephone company, married with a five-year-old boy, and idly dreaming of making it as a rock musician. (There used to be a similar game of being six handshakes away from Mao Zedong - you could win by getting within five handshakes of Edward Heath.) He's not obscure enough for that to be interesting and you can play the six-removes game with anyone. Playing comedy could be an option for him of course: and yet he could be too subtle for the very broad neo-Jerry-Lewis style now in fashion and even the famous "Six Degrees" game is a slight on his abilities and achievements. Although he has always been a plausible leading player, actual stardom has always eluded him. The classic definition of a star is someone with something missing rather than something extra and maybe Bacon has never had it missing, or not enough of it missing. The movie is still definitely much better and more refreshing than most genre movies being released today.Can it really be true that Kevin Bacon is just a couple of months shy of his 42nd birthday? This actor, who first came to our attention in Barry Levinson's Diner 18 years ago, has maintained effectively the same faintly overlooked presence ever since: coiled, muscular, yet open and always youthful and verging on naivety, with an agreeable, intelligent identity that suggests an existence outside the world of acting. The movie further more features some nice special effects, that are used only in the right places. The movie is well directed by David Koepp himself and he knows how to bring his own story to the screen. It shows how good as an actress she actually is. It was nice and refreshing to see Kathryn Erbe in something different than "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" for a change. This movie is perhaps the first one that truly allows Bacon to shine and show his skill as an actor and proof to the world that he can really carry a movie. Kevin Bacon is really know for being the biggest Hollywood lead and he normally plays supporting roles, especially before this movie. I was actually quite blown away by the movie when I first saw it, which must have been in 2000 or something. And remember again, this was all quite new and refreshing for 1999 standards. The movie above all is a supernatural thriller (that also definitely has some similarities by the way with "The Sixth Sense", which also might be a reason why it was received so coolly) but the movie also features some real horror elements. It provides the movie with mystery and an uneasy atmosphere. You don't know if its real what is happening or is it just the main character imagining things. In the beginning you really don't know what the movie is going to be about or were its trying to head to. You never know what is going to happen next and the movie offers more than enough surprise. Everything is build up perfectly slowly and mysteriously. The story is greatly written by David Koepp, who really is one of the best writers in the business. However by todays standards the movie perhaps doesn't really seem that original anymore, since dozens like this sort of movie are being made every year now. You also have to remember that in 1999 these type of movies were still fresh and new, so everything about it was original. I'm glad that the movie by now is finally starting to receive the credit it deserves. Who knows what would have happened to this movie if it was released before "The Sixth Sense.It surely would had been appreciate more than it was now. Completely unfair, also since I thought that the script was even being written before "The Sixth Sense" was and I also thought that filming completed earlier but yet it was released later in cinemas. "Stir of Echoes" was released only a month after "The Sixth Sense" and people wanted to know nothing of it. Every movie of the same 'type' released after "The Sixth Sense" was considered by everyone lame, unoriginal and a rip-off and a movie to quickly cash in after the success of "The Sixth Sense". It launched a totally new genre of movies. It was an huge hit and the movie was the talk of the year. This all changed after the release of "The Sixth Sense". Before 1999 this type of supernatural thrillers/horror didn't really existed.
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