Search - Danika on DVD

Marla R. (Marla-R) from SEDALIA, MO
Reviewed on 2/16/2012...

Danika Merrick suffers from increasingly disturbing paranoid hallucinations. Most of her hallucinations involve threats to her family and media-fuelled fears such as child kidnappings, car accidents, her children lying, and terrorism. Danika confides to her husband, Randy, and Evelyn, her psychiatrist.
The movie begins with Danika apologizing for being late, and being scolded by her bank manager about incorrect collections. Her manager leaves the office instructing Danika to correct the errors, and remain in the office.
Danika then witnesses a bank robbery in progress with two trigger-happy robbers shooting anyone that moves. The alarm goes off and the robbers force Danika's boss to tell them where the security monitors are located. The manager points to her office where a shivering Danika seeks shelter in the corner. As the door opens, she expects to come face to face with a gun toting bank robber, but is confronted by her manager who wonders what is wrong with her.
The end of the movie throw a great twist that makes you head spin!! Watch out for the husband and nanny, and where are the children really?
This movie had me rivided! I had to watch it a couple of times to makes sure I got it. Wonderful!!

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An Impressive Thriller

Grady Harp | Los Angeles, CA United States | 12/31/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Relatively new cinematic team of director Ariel Vromen and writer Joshua Leibner pounce onto the scene with a surprisingly fine little film that has basically gone unnoticed. DANIKA is a story that demands the viewer's careful attention and rewards that attention with a finely wrought surprise ending. This is a tough movie to review: almost anything that is said about it diminishes the impact of a fresh look.

Danika (the superb and grossly underused actress Marisa Tomei) is a beautiful, well-dressed successful professional woman, loved by her husband Randy (Craig Bierko) and her children Kurt (Kyle Gallner), Lauren (Nicki Prian) and Brian (Ridge Canipe). Yet even from the opening scenes we can tell something is amiss: Danika 'sees' disturbing things, terrifying events and people that alter her attention to her job and her family. She visits a young psychiatrist Evelyn (Regina Hall) who becomes her confidant - the only person who accepts that Danika is witnessing disturbing sights. A mixture of critical pieces of disastrous events flash before Danika's eyes as well as flashbacks to some years back when her children were young. Danika overcompensates for her fears by being an overprotective mother, an unfortunate trait that begins to fracture her family.

The pace of the film changes to rapid fire events as the reasons for Danika's visions become clear: we finally see just what made this brilliant and strong woman the victim of a terrified and disturbed psyche and the manner in which each of the characters in the story impacts this discovery is well-illuminated. The surprise ending scene is a stunner and one that will haunt the viewer.

Marisa Tomei makes this very difficult, well-written role completely believable. She is an actress of enormous gifts. Likewise the remainder of the cast offers such fine ensemble work that credit must be given director Ariel Vromen for being a young talent on the rise. Yes, there are some portions of the film that beg credibility but then that is what delusional thinking is about. This is a tight little film that deserves attention. Grady Harp, December 06
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An overlooked gem in the crowded field of psychological thri

Daniel Jolley | Shelby, North Carolina USA | 06/02/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Marisa Tomei has always been one of my favorite actresses. With that pretty face, gorgeous red hair, and animated spirit, she should be one of America's biggest stars. She's won an Oscar, for goodness' sake, so no one can doubt her acting abilities. Why, then, does it seem like such a rare treat to actually see her play the central role in a film? The woman is fabulous in Danika. Say what you like about the story (it's one of those psychological thrillers, so audience reaction will inevitably be somewhat divided), but Marisa Tomei turns in a gripping, very believable performance.

Every parent (well, every good parent, anyway) wants desperately to protect his/her family, especially the children, so in this respect Danika (Tomei) is basically no different than the vast majority of wives and mothers in the world. All of a sudden, though, her life has taken a turn toward the surreal. She begins having awful visions which lead her to seek psychiatric help after what can only be described as a psychotic episode at work. Not only does she see awful things happening to her husband and kids, she also has psychic-like visions of other kids dying in horrible ways, and these things come about in such a way that she feels as if she could have saved them. This leads her to become ever more obsessive in terms of protecting her own family, and we all know how teens and pre-teens react to overprotective mothers. A lesser actress couldn't have played this role effectively, as the story is surreal and sometimes confusing as the tension builds toward a pretty powerful conclusion.

As with all psychological thrillers, the proof of the pudding is ultimately in the ending. It is possible to figure out, to some degree, what is really going on here - I picked up on it from the preview alone, although I didn't predict the final machination of the emotional climax - but I don't think it matters much whether you figure things out on your own or not. The emotional power of the final minutes is not to be denied, and the whole movie leaves you with plenty of food for thought. It's the kind of ending that viewers will want to discuss with one another after the fact, and I think that is a sign of the story's ultimate effectiveness. Any movie in this genre is going to draw one-star reviews from those who claim not to get it, but I think the majority of viewers will find this movie spellbinding and emotionally jarring."

Danika....

Anthony Richards | Wash DC | 12/31/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"In my oppinion Marisa Tomei is a really great actress...and this movie proves it, she gave a very believeablle performance...I really wouldn't call this movie horror, but deff a thriller, and the endind will blow you away...i never saw that comming"