Published: March 14, 2007 03:17 pm         

‘Premonition’ lacks foresight to present worthy ending

Film review

Someone connected with the psychological thriller “Premonition” should have been clairvoyant enough to realize that when you don’t have a good finale, it doesn’t pay to substitute two bad endings.

Starring Sandra Bullock as a woman whose husband is killed in a car wreck one day but turns up alive and well the next, “Premonition” plays out too tranquilly in the early going to build much suspense.

The movie teases viewers with the promise of great twists or revelations, making the unsatisfying conclusion and epilogue all the more annoying. You’re entitled to a decent payoff after sitting through a hushed, brooding tale of paranormal happenings, and “Premonition” simply does not deliver.

It’s a shame, because Bullock is on screen virtually every moment of the movie and breathes far more soul into the role than her superficially written character merits.

Bullock stars as Linda Hanson, a passably contented housewife with two sweet daughters and a sturdy husband, Jim (Julian McMahon), with whom she shares an amiable if not terribly passionate marriage.

One day, while Jim’s away on a business trip, the sheriff comes knocking, telling Linda that her husband died the day before in a traffic accident. Life sucks for the rest of the day as family and friends begin the grieving process.

The next morning, though, everything is back to normal, Jim sipping his morning coffee when Linda comes downstairs to the kitchen. The next day, she’s a widow again, heading off to his funeral. The day after that, Jim’s above ground again, and so on and so on.

Linda realizes she’s somehow living the days of her devastating week out of order, with mysterious little signs and paradoxes creeping up to clue her in on where she’s at and whether she can head off the pending tragedy.

Her strange behavior initially is chalked up to shock by her mother (Kate Nelligan) and best friend (Nia Long). Linda’s inability to remember where the nasty scars came from on her oldest daughter’s face prods her loved ones to call in a shrink (Peter Stormare) for fear she may be a danger to the kids.

Director Mennan Yapo and screenwriter Bill Kelly take cheap license with the story’s internal logic, simply ignoring the chronology of events at times if it does not fit their aims.

Physical manifestations of events from the previous days Linda has yet to live would have had to be there at the opening of the story, which is day one from her perspective but objectively the middle of the tale.

But that would have tipped Linda — and the audience — that all is not right from the very beginning. Rather than thinking the story through better, the filmmakers just figure no one will notice enough to care.

“Premonition,” released by Sony’s TriStar Pictures, is rated PG-13 for some violent content, disturbing images, thematic material and brief language. Running time: 97 minutes. Two stars out of four.

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Motion Picture Association of America rating definitions:

G — General audiences. All ages admitted.

PG — Parental guidance suggested. Some material may not be suitable for children.

PG-13 — Special parental guidance strongly suggested for children under 13. Some material may be inappropriate for young children.

R — Restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.

NC-17 — No one under 17 admitted.