Hidden Away (2013)

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

although mildly interesting, it had way too many loopholes. it simply lacked credibility. yeah, I know it is just a movie, but you still need plausibility in a story line.Perhaps the biggest thing is that they never demonstrated how she was able to cash in on the insurance money. did she send in a request and not have to appear in person? and why did the police conclude she was dead so quickly? had seven years passed? I don't know that 7 months passed.then at the end when he is chasing his ex and daughter, he does not grab the gun when it was right there? he forgot? come on! and finally, Emmanuelle Vaugier might have turned in the worst acting performance I have ever seen. when she should have shown fear, it looked like she was smirking, not overtly, but she was just way off the mark.

Typical Lifetime Network nonsense about the victimized woman with terribly poor taste who hopes that running away will solve her problems only to learn the hard way when she gets tracked down. In this shameless outing, we have Vaugier faking her and her daughter's death in an attempt to escape her physically abusive husband. Blah, blah, blah; same old routine: she gets a new life, her daughter grows up not remembering anything, she meets a nice guy (Flanery), the fairy tale ending is just a grasp away, and then all of a sudden the bad guy from the past (Sergei) shows up. This cookie-cutter garbage could be somewhat bearable if it didn't consist of melodrama triggered by acts that would otherwise be considered downright moronic if only the protagonists weren't so unlucky. Nice climax—apparently, any dimwit can be inspired by watching NORTH BY NORTHWEST in film class.*½ (out of four)

For dramatic visual purposes, abused wife Emmanuelle Vaugier (as Stephanie) takes her seven-year-old daughter and heads for the Canadian border in a small boat during the pouring rain while firefighter husband Ivan Sergei (as Andrew Bennett) is out buying some flowers. Probably, he wants to kiss and make-up after viciously throwing Ms. Vaugier around the house. Ten years later, Vaugier is a successful realtor in Palm Springs, CA. She stole another woman's identity and started over (as Alexandra Cole) by faking her death and cashing in on a $250,000 insurance policy. Vaugier is dating handsome art museum assistant director Sean Patrick Flanery (as Brett Collins) while making sure pretty teenage Allie Gonino (as Rachel) isn't out too late with boyfriends...After finding his wife's box hidden in the attic while exterminating raccoons, Mr. Sergei finds evidence suggesting she and step-daughter are alive. Then, we're off to the races. "Hidden Away" is hard to take. For example, they ran into problems with the age of "Sage" if she were a teenager played by an actress past her teens. We're told she "blocked" unpleasantness, but it doesn't ring true. The best course would have been to make her younger, since her parents are a stretch at being ten years older. Sergei almost steals the show by offering a more believable performance than usual for the genre. Thomas Calabro and Elisabeth Rohm lend good support. Director Peter Sullivan does well in buildings, stretching players and shots along spacious horizontals, with depth.***** Hidden Away (7/27/13) Peter Sullivan ~ Emmanuelle Vaugier, Ivan Sergei, Sean Patrick Flanery, Allie Gonino

This was one of the best Lifetime thrillers I've ever seen! While it starts out like one of those familiar SLEEPING WITH THE ENEMY-type stories where a woman flees an abusive ex-husband, this story doesn't stop moving for the full two hour running time.Emmanuelle Vaugier plays Stephanie, a young mother who fakes her own death (and her daughter's) in order to escape her abusive husband Andrew (Ivan Sergei). Many years later, Andrew stumbles upon incriminating evidence and realizes that his late wife, and most importantly, his beloved step daughter (Allie Gonino), is still alive. So he does what any kind, loving husband would do... he murders the detective (Thomas Calabro) he hired to track them down and then goes to Palm Springs to finish the job himself. What follows is a fast-paced cat and mouse game as Andrew, like a spider, weaves a web around his prey and slowly draws them in. In the process, he seduces her best friend (Elisabeth Rohm) and threatens to destroy her new relationship with a handsome museum director (Sean Patrick Flanery). It all culminates in an exciting chase and fight aboard the Palm Springs tramway with a big action sequence I've never seen in a movie like this before. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time.Ivan Sergei is great as the twisted villain and really steals the show. I loved how he wasn't just a one-note baddie like the evil husbands in both SLEEPING THE ENEMY and ENOUGH. In fact, he almost makes you feel bad for him. But he really brings the crazy in a surprisingly subtle and nuanced performance. Emmanuelle plays to her strengths from shows like CSI NY and HUMAN TARGET as she basically becomes an action hero in the film's finale, and Sean Patrick Flanery plays the male eye candy but it was fun to see Young Indiana Jones and the Boondock Saint go against type... basically playing the damsel in distress.From its opening chase in the middle of a raging storm to a finale literally dangling hundreds of feet above Palm Springs... HIDDEN AWAY was an exciting thriller you can't miss.