The Lost

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Rating 2¾


Directed by Bryan Goeres

Written by Dan Dworkin and Jay Beattie

Starring Armand Assante (Kevin), Lacey Chabert (Jane), Dina Meyer (Mira), David Selvas (Hugo), Ferran Lahoz (Gil), Sergi Mateu (Molina), Ricard Sales (Alex), Jorge Bosch (Delgado), Miquel Gelabert (Alonso) and Toby Harper (Barry)

Kevin, once a practicing psychoanalyst, now a successful writer, is approached by Mira in New York during a book tour to promote his latest book. At first she asks for his autograph, but then she tells him she is the older sister of Jane and that his diagnosis of her sister’s condition three years earlier during a high profile criminal trial in Spain had condemned her to spend the rest of her life in an institution, drugged to a permanent near-comatose state. Mira claims that it was the wrong diagnosis and threatens to expose his mistake in the newspapers. Kevin reluctantly agrees to reassess Jane’s condition, travelling back to Spain, and as he learns more about her split personalities he becomes ensnared in a web of intrigue.

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‘The Lost’ (or ‘Perduts’, to give the film its Catalan title) is a made-for-television film, first released at the beginning of 2009. It was made by the Barcelona based Drimtim Entertainment production company, which specialises in product that has appeal in the American market. It is not exactly a horror film, although it might be marketed as such. More accurately, it is a psychological thriller. There are no scares as such and certainly no blood and gore.

The premise that takes Kevin back to Spain to reassess Jane is daft in the extreme and the twisty ending is equally outlandish. The film follows a tried and tested formula that is very familiar, but all in all it is really rather well done and enjoyable, with decent performances all round by an experienced and very competent cast.

The writers Dan Dworkin and Jay Beattie are an experienced team, having also worked together on numerous American television series, including ‘Cold Case’, ‘Criminal Minds’, ‘Surface’ and ‘Vanished’. Director Bryan Goeres has direcetd several other films for Drimtim.

Review posted 26 April 2009



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