Naturally, the real reason I rented this movie is because Stephen Moyer was starring in it, and I love him in True Blood (as the vampire Bill Compton)...
Restraint is a movie out of Australia from 2007 - I believe it was also known as 'Ravenwood'.
A young couple - Ron and Dale, (Teresa Palmer of 'The Grudge 2' and Travis Fimmel of Patrick Swayze's 'The Beast')commits a murder and is seeking shelter from closing in law enforcement when they come upon the secluded home of Andrew (Moyer) and decide his huge sprawling (yet just a bit on the creepy side) estate is right up their alley as far as a good hiding place.
It is already established within the first few moments that Andrew is severely agoraphobic, but he is also possibly harboring a few secrets of his own.
Check out the trailer, it really sums it up just as good as I could.
Restraint trailer
This is a pretty compelling and worthwhile thriller, with a few turns and twists that are unexpected.
Saying Andrew gets a type of Stockholm Syndrome isn't quite right, but suffice it to say the three get very wrapped up in each other's lives in the few days that go by.
There is a heightened sense of tension and discomfort as you try to figure out just who's screwing with who - figuratively as well as literally.
All three cast members are great, and it's hard to believe it didn't get an American release, especially with Moyer's rising fame due to True Blood.
Naturally, his Louisiana accent from TB is missing, and his native British dialect is on display- though I assume he's supposed to be Australian. Not that the accent isn't a major draw in itself. Sue me, I like him.
Palmer, as Dale, is almost a dead ringer for Kristen Stewart when the movie starts - she dyes her hair blonde later and loses a bit of the lookalike thing, but seriously, they could be sisters. Guys will love her in this movie because there is nothing left to the imagination regarding her anatomy.
Fimmel's character, Ron, is almost intolerable, so you know he's a good actor. I just wanted him to die, he was so annoying.
The cinematography is top-class, and the story is quite believeable. You think almost immediately that Andrew is going to fight back or have some sort of Rambo moment, and when it doesn't happen, it just starts the wheels turning in your head. You can't stop guessing what is going to happen next.
There's no gore to speak of, but it would have been completely unnecessary anyway. The thrills here come from scripting and intrigue.
I'd have loved to see it on the big screen.
It's worth a look - a taut thriller with a uneasiness about it that hard to come by in today's cinema - especially in America.
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