Genres

Visitors Review

bridegur_bridegur 2012-05-15 18:18:34

Stunningly Realistic

This movie "got it right!" Every detail was taken care of. Hospitalsetting? CHECK. Violent gunman? DOUBLE CHECK. Extras that seemgenuinely frightened and terrifyingly true-to-life? TRIPLE CHECK! Thismovie runs so smoothly it seems like ONE TAKE! Edge of your seat excitement guaranteed to wet your cheeks.Warning for younger viewers: There are some really shocking momentsduring this movie, including one disturbing scene with an extra boltingout of a closet towards the camera. The job she does is almost toomuch, the intensity almost made me vomit. I guess this is the job ofthese movie people, but sometimes during the film I just had to wonderif my anxiety was worth it!

boyinflares 2012-05-15 11:58:17

Television Movies at their best

"The Taking of Alta View" is based on real life events, how accuratethe film portrayal is I do not know, but what I do know is that as faras Telemovies go, this one is certainly one of the best. The storyrevolves around one man, Richard Worthington (Harry Hamlin) who takeshostages at the Alta View Hospital as he is seeking revenge against thedoctor who tied his wife's tubes after she gave birth to their tenthchild. Worthington believes that the doctor tied his wife's tubes whileshe was sleeping and against her will, which is of course illegal, andaccording to a nurse who was present, the senior nurse Susan Woolley(Teri Garr) that is not what happened at all, though Worthington is notinterested in learning the truth. What follows is confusion on theparts of the rescue team, fear from the hostages and the plight ofWorthington, who plays to a certain degree both protagonist andantagonist at the same time.Harry Hamlin does a great job of portraying the dilemma Worthington isin, making him come across not just as the villain, but as someone whoyou might actually sympathize with. Though, he does seem to spout a bittoo much religious talk, such as the comment (I don't recall the exactwording) about God's meaning for birth is so that humanity canrepopulate the Earth. There is no argument from anyone in the film toshow the other side of that comment - that humanity is also a strain onthe resources of Earth. Nevertheless, you may feel compelled tosympathize with Worthington at times, as do some of his hostages.One hostage who does not fall under Worthington's "spell" is of courseTeri Garr's Susan. Garr does a splendid job in her role, supported byJoycelyn O'Brien as the other nurse taken hostage. The other hostagesinclude pregnant Cristan (Georgia Emelin), her husband Adam (KeithCoulouris) and her sister Carre (Britt Sady). Sady does a good job interms of displaying some sort of affection towards Worthington -Stockholm Syndrome."The Taking of Alta View" also gives an interesting portrayal of ahostage situation in terms of there being so many different departmentsinvolved in the rescue, and each one of them not co-operating with theother. Terry O'Quinn (yes, who would later go on to star in "Lost")plays a respected hostage negotiator, Sgt. Don Bell, who is constantlyunder-minded by others. The rescue of the hostages goes terribly wrongon many occasions, simply because the various officials do not want toco-operate with Worthington (or Bell for that matter), and disasterspreads.Overall, despite obvious low production values, "The Taking of AltaView" is a very well done Telemovie based on real events, with terrificperformances from Hamlin and Garr, and some thought-provoking moments.