Donovan's Echo is a mild-mannered thriller about a grieving physicist haunted by events from the past. The film has terrific performances from Danny Glover and Bruce Greenwood.
The story is set in the 1990s. Donovan Matheson (Glover) was a brilliant researcher who worked on the Manhattan Project as a very young man, but personal tragedy has left him a broken man. Alone and alcoholic, he finds his way back to the small B.C. community he used to call home. He has a friend there in a local policeman (Greenwood), but Donovan is not exactly settling in calmly. He is soon bothered by episodes of deja vu and prescience that suggest past tragedies will be repeated in the present unless he does something to stop them. There are signs upon signs, and they involve a young neighbour (Natasha Calis) who appears to be in peril. But from what?
And is Donovan right to be warning everyone, or is he just imagining things?
Donovan's Echo is a directorial debut from Canadian filmmaker Jim Cliffe.
It's technically sound, and features strong performances, but the storytelling is a bit weak. There's a hint of The Dead Zone to the movie, and you can see the potential, but the story doesn't add up. Those happy to see Glover or Greenwood under any circumstances won't really mind.
