Plot Details: This opinion reveals major details about the movie's plot.

Wow. Premonition is a difficult movie! I blame poor direction, a poor script, and lackluster performances. Mostly, I think that people won't "get it". Because taken on its own, without adding a whole lot of guesswork, it really makes no sense whatsoever. The plot holes are large enough to swallow you up.

Only after pondering it for a while, do I think I now understand it. Or, at least I mostly understand it. There are still some holes that I can't plug. Perhaps a second viewing would help in that regard.

Basic Plot

Sandra Bullock plays Linda Hanson, married with two young daughters. It seems that her marriage started out wonderfully romantic and loving, but has now settled into more of a "roommate" situation. She seems a bit depressed, and has trouble rousing herself out of bed in the mornings. Husband Jim (Julian McMahon) is your standard workaholic, paying little attention to what goes on at home.

One day - Thursday - Linda retrieves a cryptic message on her answering machine from Jim. He babbles something about a conversation with the kids the day before, and that she should always remember that "he meant what he said". She's confused, since she doesn't have any recollection of a conversation the day before. But before she can spend too much time worrying about it, her worst nightmare comes true. A sheriff is at her front door, to tell her that Jim has been killed in a car accident. In fact, he was killed the day before - Wednesday - but the sheriff "couldn't contact her earlier". (This lapse of time is never explained, by the way).

So, Linda reacts as any wife would. With a mixture of grief, denial, and sheer exhaustion, she falls asleep. When she wakes up, it's a miracle… Jim is alive and well! But wait, he tells her he's running late for his "Monday meeting". It seems we've gone backwards in time. It's only Monday; Jim's accident hasn't happened yet. Or, was his accident just a horrible dream? Well, probably not. Because the next time Linda wakes up, the calendar's jumped again. It's Saturday - the day of the funeral. And daughter Bridgette's face is a patchwork of stitches. How did Bridgette get hurt? We don't know. And neither does Linda. Everything's all confused!!

The rest of the movie goes along in this manner. Each time Linda awakens, it's either some day prior to the accident, or it's some day after the accident. When it's a day in the future, it is clear that events have taken place of which Linda has no knowledge. Like when she meets Jim's co-worker Claire for the first time, and Claire mentions that they'd just met the day before. But in Linda's screwed-up calendar, the day before hasn't happened yet.

Eventually, Linda decides she has to take matters into her hands and try to prevent the tragic events that she now knows will happen. She seeks advice - both from a psychiatrist (Peter Stormare) and a priest (Jude Ciccolella). She draws up a calendar, and tries to fill in the events in their proper order to try to make sense out of all of this.

I don't want to give any more away.

My Thoughts

Overall, I feel this script was not well-written. What could have been a fascinating story about time-travel, learning life lessons, and our ability (or not?) to change fate, just meanders all over the place without a whole lot of logic. I wanted to come away with a wonderful message, a "moral" if you will, yet I could not. Instead I came away with many questions, few answers, and a huge feeling of disappointment.

Part of the problem was the acting. Normally I like Sandra Bullock, but in this role, she came off rather robotic. Happy? Sad? Can't really tell - she always looks the same. McMahon was OK as Jim, but his part is so small, it really didn't matter. Bullock really is this entire movie, so if her performance isn't dead on, it's a real problem! In one scene, we see her have a complete meltdown at the funeral. That should have been an incredible scene that brought tears to my eyes - after all, the woman's at her husband's funeral!! - but instead, I just felt embarrassed for Linda. She was acting like a crazed fool, not a bereaved widow.

Sadly, I can't recommend this movie. Despite its premise which I found intriguing, the movie simply doesn't work.



Recommended: No