Abandon (2002)

17% of critics liked it
(109 reviews)
37% of users liked it
(12,511 ratings)

A young woman is faced with the disturbing reemergence of a man she once loved in this psychological thriller. Embry Langan (Charlie Hunnam) was a wealthy but reckless student at an exclusive private college until he mysteriously vanished, with airline tickets to Europe left unused and plenty of… More A young woman is faced with the disturbing reemergence of a man she once loved in this psychological thriller. Embry Langan (Charlie Hunnam) was a wealthy but reckless student at an exclusive private college until he mysteriously vanished, with airline tickets to Europe left unused and plenty of money still in the bank. Two years later, Katie Burke (Katie Holmes), Embry's girlfriend, is still dealing with his disappearance as she goes into the home stretch of her college career. With exams, a thesis, and job interviews to think about, Katie is already walking an emotional tightrope when Wade Handler (Benjamin Bratt), a police detective, enters the picture. Handler, a recovering alcoholic, has been ordered to reopen the Langan case, and as he questions Katie about the missing man, she finds her obsession with her former beau taking over her life, which leaves her all the more unnerved when she begins seeing Embry around the campus. Meanwhile, Handler's investigation begins to suggest Langan's disappearance may have been more sinister than imagined, and could be connected with other cases of missing students. Abandon marked the directorial debut for screenwriter Stephen Gaghan, who won an Oscar for his script for Traffic. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: PG-13, 1 hr. 39 min.
Directed By: Stephen Gaghan
Written By: Stephen Gaghan
Genres: Drama, Horror, Mystery & Suspense

In Theaters: Oct 18, 2002 Wide
On DVD: Mar 18, 2003
Studio: Paramount Pictures

Critic Reviews

Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
It's a bad sign in a thriller when you instantly know whodunit.
Joe Baltake, Sacramento Bee
[Gaghan] successfully illustrates that if a filmmaker is capable and intelligent -- and assumes that his audience is the same -- he can transcend the limitations of even so lowly a genre.
Ed Park, Village Voice
Hardly a nuanced portrait of a young woman's breakdown, the film nevertheless works up a few scares.
Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper
It's light on the chills and heavy on the atmospheric weirdness, and there are moments of jaw-droppingly odd behavior -- yet I found it weirdly appealing.
Todd McCarthy, Variety
Pic's structure and last-minute disclosures entirely betray any personal investment the viewer has made in this low-key yarn, which will cause audiences to feel ambushed and sullied at fadeout.
Peter Howell, Toronto Star
The title helpfully offers the most succinct review of it you'll read anywhere.
Nell Minow, Common Sense Media
It really is almost impressive how bad this is.
Michael Dequina, TheMovieReport.com
A flimsy and tedious thriller.
David Nusair, Reel Film Reviews
The film's final twist is admittedly quite effective, though it doesn't even remotely justify the interminable build-up leading into it.
Judith Egerton, Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY)
Might have been titled Fatal Attraction -- The College Years.
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
Lacked an emotionally endearing story.
Greg Maki, Star-Democrat (Easton, MD)
The twist ending ... becomes discernible around the midway point, but Gaghan makes up for it ...
Pablo Villaca, Cinema em Cena
O ritmo lento e o final previsível (e absurdo) comprometem o filme irremediavelmente.
Nick Rogers, State Journal-Register (Springfield, IL)
In the end, the film is less the cheap thriller you'd expect than it is a fairly revealing study of its two main characters - damaged-goods people whose orbits will inevitably and dangerously collide.
Bill Chambers, Film Freak Central
Abandon is a damn good movie.
Forrest Hartman, Reno Gazette-Journal
Nothing is more frustrating than a movie that banks on a twist ending that it telegraphs 30 minutes before climax.
Jeremy Conrad, IGN DVD
The biggest problem with Abandon is that all of the buildup ... is seriously boring, disjointed, unfocused, and not interesting in the least.
Ed Gonzalez, Slant Magazine
Certainly not a keeper but the good news is that now you can quickly fast-forward to the best parts in the film: every scene with Melanie Lynskey as Creepy Library Girl.
John R. McEwen, Film Quips Online
For what I suppose must be classified as a 'teen thriller,' this film has a surprising amount of substance.
Scott Von Doviak, Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Meandering and glacially paced, and often just plain dull.

Read all 21 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Bruce B

Really thought I had reviewed this film some time ago. This film didn't do much for me. Maybe it was the acting of Benjamin Bratt, maybe it was the charater he played, just didn't enjoy this film and that is something rare for me. A 2 star and hope never to watch again.
Steven C

Before I start, I know I am in the minority here. In fact, I have been defending this movie for years. After all, "Abandon" came out in 2002 and it's now 2011, and after almost 10 years I still keep coming back to this film, regardless of it's popular dislike.… More
Before I start, I know I am in the minority here. In fact, I have been defending this movie for years. After all, "Abandon" came out in 2002 and it's now 2011, and after almost 10 years I still keep coming back to this film, regardless of it's popular dislike. Written and directed by Stephen Gagan (Oscar winning scribe of "Traffic"), "Abandon" is extremely generous to multiple viewings. While the basic story is something we have certainly seen many, actually too many, times before, it's the characters and their psychology that really interest me. I find Katie (a wonderful and complex Katie Holmes) to be a very sympathetic character, regardless of her actions. I find something extremely cathartic in her story. Gagan crafts his morbid tale with a dark and stylish atmosphere rather than going for the easy scares others would have. He also tells his story with a shifting time frame that helps you see the world through Katie's eyes. "Abandon" is about the mind and how memories can grab hold, sometimes all too literally. "Abandon" is nothing new exactly, but for me, I really enjoy it. I think it's an involving, moody mystery with a very interesting central character. But then again, I am alone on this one, so go figure.
Leigh R

Saw the ending come from a mile away. Zooey was the only highlight of this movie.
familiar s

Worth abandoning!!!
Drew S

Kind of like a sister movie to The Glass House, in that it's a thriller that doesn't do much thrilling...or much of anything, really. Abandon's a pretty simple movie. Where it has a good main character in Katie Holmes and a tight grasp on tone (both of which The Glass… More
Kind of like a sister movie to The Glass House, in that it's a thriller that doesn't do much thrilling...or much of anything, really. Abandon's a pretty simple movie. Where it has a good main character in Katie Holmes and a tight grasp on tone (both of which The Glass House lacked), it also is infuriatingly predictable and implausible. I had the big twist figured out in the first 40 minutes. The movie tries to justify what happens with really cheap dime-store psychology, but I'm not buying it. It's at least subtle about the roots of its plot, but you'd have to suspend a hell of a lot of disbelief to meet the movie where it stands. To be honest, I wouldn't really recommend this, even though the first half hour is really good. It just doesn't have what it takes to capitalize on the strengths of that first act; the movie doesn't "springboard" into action right. A lot of the times we see things that don't help at all. If we learned more about the characters, and if certain completely unnecessary subplots were written out, Abandon would have a great deal more potential. It's really too bad that this is even a thriller. I think the movie is most effective in teaching us that intellectuals are irredeemable assholes. Don't be friends with people like Embry. They're much happier with themselves.
Deb S

Detective Wade Handler (Benjamin Bratt) is assigned to investigate the disappearance of gorgeous rich guy/ student Embry Larkin (Charlie Hunnam) who vanished two years ago. Wade looks for Embry's former girlfriend, Katie Burke (Katie Holmes), a supposedly irresistible 'Man… More
Detective Wade Handler (Benjamin Bratt) is assigned to investigate the disappearance of gorgeous rich guy/ student Embry Larkin (Charlie Hunnam) who vanished two years ago. Wade looks for Embry's former girlfriend, Katie Burke (Katie Holmes), a supposedly irresistible 'Man Killer' whose sweet, beautiful facade no male can resist. Katie is aggressively competing for a job at a prestigious firm after graduation and under a lot of pressure, completing her thesis, while having sessions with her psychiatric, Dr. David Schaffer (Tony Goldwyn). It is no surprise when Bratt falls for her 'jailbait' cuteness and accepts her word when she says Embry broke up with her, just before he disappeared...and again believes her when she says that Embry had reappeared and is threatening her, despite the fact that nobody else in college sees him! As the film crawls towards its predictable conclusion, her obvious schizophrenia, and flashy camera angles attempting to pass as 'suspense' pad out the story leading to the climactic scene with history about to repeat itself!
Remi L

Katie Holmes trying to rid herself of her good girl image was unsuccessful in this film. It's not that her performance wasn't believable, she actually came across as a regular every-day college girl in this film, its just that this movie was kind of dull, and therefore not… More
Katie Holmes trying to rid herself of her good girl image was unsuccessful in this film. It's not that her performance wasn't believable, she actually came across as a regular every-day college girl in this film, its just that this movie was kind of dull, and therefore not too many people would get the chance to see her playing against type.
Chosen 7

Weird film, nice twist.