The Stolen
Directed by: Niall Johnson
Written by: Emily Corcoran
Starring: Alice Eve, Jack Davenport, Graham McTavish
Review by Stephanie Cooke
I have to say that before receiving this film for review, I had never even heard of it existing. The Stolen is a story about a young woman, Charlotte (Alice Eve), who moves away from her city life to start anew with her husband and baby at a farm belonging to her husband’s family in New Zealand. After a robbery at their home goes wrong, Charlotte is widowed and left to try to find her missing son who is taken from her.
The Stolen jumps in weird increments in the beginning. The three segments happen over the course of nine months with each part being spread out with three months between – Charlotte being pregnant, Charlotte and her husband living together with their baby, and Charlotte’s baby being missing. The film finally settles on one timeline that sees Charlotte take matters into her own hands… which I don’t really understand. She’s given instructions to find her son and none of it really involves her going on a big adventure but all of a sudden, there she is out on a big adventure. Charlotte has to adapt quickly to survive and find the men who snatched her son away and killed her husband.
Not a lot really happens. The film moves at a snails pace and while it shows off a lot of beautiful scenery, it takes about 30 minutes for something to happen outside of the initial hubbaloo that sets Charlotte off in the first place. After each little bit of excitement, the film slows right back down, which left me just wanting to shout at the TV, “GET ON WITH IT!”
The film is disguised as a story about a woman who sets out to put her family back together but ultimately it’s a tale about what it takes to survive in 1882 as a woman. Spoilers: it sucks.
Charlotte has an interesting-ish arc from start to finish but the overall story wasn’t satisfying enough to really help deliver the film as a package, which is a shame because The Stolen is written by a woman (Emily Corcoran) who also happens to play a supporting role within the film as well. I really wanted to go into this liking the film but it ultimately just felt too slow paced.
The Stolen Blu-ray Special Features:
- The Stolen: Behind the Scenes
Verdict:
Skip it. While The Stolen is not a terrible movie, it didn’t have enough of a compelling story to really drive it home. It’s ultimately a story about a beautiful woman and the lengths that men will go to to stake their claim on someone that doesn’t want them. Sigh.
