Film – White Noise (2005)
Director – Geoffrey Sax
Genre – Mystery & Thriller
Runtime – 1h 38min.
Cast – Michael Keaton, Deborah Karah Unger
Overview
Jonathan is a successful architect. A good father to his little kid as well as a loving husband to his second wife Anna. Anna goes missing and is later discovered dead. Hence, Jonathan is thrown into a hole of despair. Raymond claims to have made touch with Anna and is an EVP specialist who has developed a method of communicating with the dead through electrical transmissions. Obsessed with finding Anna again, and he’s creating his own tower of equipment to assist him get into the unknown. Jonathan begins to confront sinister forces as his education takes over his life, and he teams up with fellow EVP convert Sarah to figure out what is after him.
EVP: Electronic Voice Phenomena
Review
It is crucial to keep in mind that the real film is only a fiction. There is no rigorous science behind EVP. No facts establish it as a legitimate study of the afterlife. Niall Johnson, a screenwriter, is essentially utilizing his pastime to gain a new perspective on the possibilities of the unknown. Jonathan’s slide into a habit of VHS recording and sound investigation morphed into a “Ghost Whisperer”-style heroic story. The bereaved protagonist receives advice to let go of his passion in order to avert community calamities. Lastly, Anna, who is imprisoned in an electronic jail and trying to connect with her husband, provides a few hints.
Firstly, Jonathan is enthralled by Raymond’s EVP research examples. They include an early link to Anna doesn’t pause to consider the broader picture. Perfectly willing to entrust over his emotions and time to a stranger adept at creating messages through sound manipulation. There are several issues with “White Noise.” Jonathan’s foray into EVP is arguably the most vexing, with the writing omitting moments of doubt, moving on too quickly to sign the character up for EVP training and onto scenes of obsession and desperation to locate Sarah. The shift is too quick and easy, depriving the endeavor of a more in-depth psychiatric examination of the widower’s broken psyche.
Sax serves out a conventional PG-13 horror viewing experience, depending on loud aural jolts and a variety of cheap scares to generate tension, which does nothing to heighten the film’s potential creepiness. The entire goal of these malicious poltergeists is also a little unclear, leading to a dismal conclusion. Keaton maintains acceptable facial expressions and dramatic timing throughout. But, he is unable unable to muster much excitement for the absurd idea. In vain attempts to stay professional while his mind seems elsewhere.
Conclusion
The screenplay was anchored in the realm of EVP, giving the effort a distinctiveness to help it stand out from the competition. It was a typical ghost story about loss and the wonder of the afterlife. “White Noise” provided cheap thrills and a slow pace instead of science. While Keaton’s innate charm keeps the film alive, the remainder is a sluggish, confused snooze that cheerfully offers pure fiction to those with an insatiable curiosity about the afterlife and the possibility of the dead communicating with the living.
