Show Me (2004): Dir: Cassandra Nicolaou / Cast: Michelle Nolden, Kett Turton, Katherine Isabelle, Gabriel Hogan, J. Adam Brown: Independent thriller about inner demons. Michelle Nolden is carjacked by two teenagers and forced to drive to a remote cabin where they tie her to a chair. Effective setup derails into episodic scenes. Conclusion is unsatisfactory but credit must be given to director Cassandra Nicolaou for creating detail within the lives and struggles of the characters. Obvious questions arise such as what was done with a body that does turn up. Perhaps it was buried but it is never really dealt with. Nolden plays a strong heroine whose own secrets slowly unfold and become apparent. She will make the obvious escape attempts until she becomes intrigued and curious within her situation. Kett Turton has behavior disorders that cause him to fly into violent outbursts. He counters this by swimming in the lake watched by camera. Katharine Isabelle cuts herself and then conceals the scars under thick clothing. Gabriel Hogan is also featured although supporting roles are not an issue in terms of being broad or written with any detail whatsoever. The conclusion doesn't quite have the strong pitch it needs although there is a strong theme regarding inner trauma and the reality that these issues need to be revealed in order for healing to begin. Score: 6 ½ / 10

At the beginning of the movie, the Squeegie kid/ kid-nappers, were trying to flee some rival Squeegie kids / or Squeegie enforcers. That would have been a more interesting story than this one.I'm always down for a taught psychological suspenseful thriller. And any film cover that has a woman tied to a chair while another woman holds the rope, well I'm down for some lesbo S&M (BOUND) bondage as well as the next guy. Howeva this film had none of the afore-mentioned in it. Yes it was well written well acted well shot, but boring. Hhe hostage 'helsinki thang" well if you've seen "DOG DAY AFTERNOON" you know how Captives identify with their Captors. The big chunk of of RED-WOOD RED-NECK HILL-BILLY MAN-MEAT, that shows-up specifically to confront the girl that cut him and robbed him the other night. Well I've gone thru worse than that for a piece of "strange". I'd call that robbing, fore-play. real pros, play in pain. The problem is the three main characters or boring, they're boring some violent drug addicted teens trying to flee the city, kidnap some rich woman in a committed lesbian relationship, and hold her hostage. There is no "COME TO Jesus MOMENT" no daring retrospective or stories of hustling or abuse. It's just a boring movie a well-done but boring movie.

Cassandra Nicolaou is a writer and director with a talent for exploring the inner lives of her characters. Much of what she creates is on the surface: an equal part lies beneath the facade and reveals personal histories through the looks in eyes and the silences she encourages form her actors.Affluent mid-thirties Sarah (the very fine Michelle Nolden) is off from the city for a rendezvous with her lover Sam, complete with special grocery shopping and wine cases to supply them for a little getaway in their isolated mountain cabin in the woods. But when traffic snarls slows her luxury vehicle to a stop and her temper is frayed, two street kids approach, pull the squeegee scam and when rejected by Sarah, they sulk on the sidewalk and Sarah, remorseful for her behavior to them, offers them money. They accept the money and jump into the car, brandishing weapons, and treat Sarah like a hostage, instructing her to drive them out of the city. Desperate but cool, Sarah receives a cellphone call from Sam, indicating the remote cabin meeting - and the atmosphere changes. Now the girl, Jenna (the beautiful and talented Katharine Isabelle) and the boy, Jackson (Kett Turton, another fine young actor) are in complete control, and the three head to the cabin. Once in the picturesque cabin by a lake Jenna and Jackson tie Sarah to a chair and go about trying to find all possible cash and goods to steal from Sarah.The 'kidnapping' gradually unveils secrets on the part of all three and slowly the trio, isolated and after attempted escapes by Sarah, begin to bond. The events then fall pall mall, video tapes of Sarah's private life reveal an aspect Jenna never suspected yet longs to understand and experience, Sarah and Jackson play a cat and mouse game that includes a degree of intimacy, an 'intruder' appears with dire consequences, and the film tumbles to a painful ending for each of the trio (now duo).The film begins and ends with a voice over stating 'There are two kinds of people in the world: those who need to be rescued, and those who want to rescue.' And the plot in retrospect examines that statement thoroughly. Writer/director Nicolaou has the integrity to incorporate gender identities, childhood needs and adoption policies, and the differences in reference points between those with money and those on the street in subtle ways, careful to not make judgments but to only reveal similarities. The cast is very good and if the script is a bit repetitive in phrases over used, that is the way young people communicate and to script it otherwise would make the dialogue false. This is a fine little thriller, more for the mind but also for the physical violence aficionados. For this viewer, this is an underrated movie.

Excellent acting all around and some good dialog can't quite save this film from some ridiculous, implausible plot twists.****SPOILER WARNING**** Basic question: If a strange girl cut you on the cheek with a switchblade and robbed you, would you go--ON YOUR OWN--to her house the next day to confront her about it, ignore her boyfriend glaring at you with an axe in his hand and saying "Who the f**k are you," and then push past the boyfriend, turning your back on him? ****END OF SPOILER**** I mean, there does come a point where characters have to behave in a SOMEWHAT plausible manner, and this scene just flat out ruined the film for me.But I was impressed with the VERY fine acting from the entire cast (comprised of only five actors).