Such a frustrating disappointment

Excellent adaptation.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Writer/director Henry Brommel has done a wonderful job with his film, "Panic," from the year 2000, and that includes his choice of cast: William H. Macy, Tracy Ullman, John Ritter, Neve Campbell, Donald Sutherland, Barbara Bain, David Dorfman. Brommel has cast Ullman and Ritter in decidedly un-funny roles, and the offbeat casting is a welcome change from what we normally see."Panic" is the story of a hit man, Alex (Macy) who actually works for his father (Sutherland). He covers his true profession by doing mail order work; by all appearances, he and his wife (Ullman) and their son Sammy (Dorfman) are a typical suburban family. Unhappy with his life, Alex seeks the help of a psychiatrist (Ritter), telling only his mother (Bain). In the waiting room, he meets a young woman (Campbell) to whom he is immediately attracted, which complicates his situation further. His mother breaks her promise and tells his father about the psychiatrist. When Alex receives his next assignment, he discovers that he is to kill his psychiatrist.This is a profound story of a gentle, good man made into a killer by a monster of a father, with his mother's knowledge, who kills to please his father but also can't stand up to him and quit. His rage is so deep-seated that he has lost emotional attachment to just about everything and everyone except his son - and it's finally his son who wakes him up out of a nearly lifelong repression. When it's time for "Panic" to moves, it does - quickly."Panic" doesn't seem panicked at all. In fact, it moves very slowly. But it moves slowly not because it's poorly made - the slowness is deliberate, mirroring Alex's own psyche slowly coming out of the fog. By making a decision about Sara, the Campbell character, and by seeing his mark, his own psychiatrist, as a living, breathing human being, Alex starts to make the connections between what he does and who he is -and how they don't jive. And the difference between the two could lead to the loss of another psyche, Sammy's.William Macy gives another brilliant performance, as a loving father, a distant husband, and a cold killer, the child of two monsters who never cared a damn for his feelings or desires, a man who realizes finally that he has to step up to the plate or have the cycle repeated.This is not the kind of drama that plays well in a movie theater. It's too adult, too small, too subtle, too character-driven, and too good.

Had placed this on my TIVO for a rainy day due to the cast, some really hard working people in the industry, and when I finally watched I was NOT disappointed.This movie has some Altman-like flavor (he's mentioned in the end credits as a "thanks" person) utilizing seemingly independent unrelated plot lines that intertwine as the film draws to its climax. Macy is pure, clean, and honest as a man who can't seem to escape his "destiny", Sutherland plays and portrays as few can, Neve adds splash to a deliberately toned down environment, add Tracy Ullman, Barbara Bain (remember Mission Impossible on TV?), not to mention the steady John Ritter and you have all the ingredients for a good FILM. The script is uncluttered, the dialog is free from cliché and thoughtful (especially between Macy and David Dorfman). Suspend belief and enjoy, this is truly time well spent.

Macy, Ullman and Sutherland were as great as usual. Ritter wasn't bad either. What's her name was as pretty as usual. It could have been a good movie. To bad the plot was atrocious. It was completely predictable, trite and boring.From the first 15 minutes, the rest of the movie was laid out like a child's paint by numbers routine. The characters were stock pieces of cut out cardboard. There was nothing new or interesting to say and that completely outweighed the acting, which was a pity.Finally, too bad the script writer wasn't the victim. Especially with the "precocious" lines from the child, which were completely unbelievable.Again, it's only the acting that prevented a much lower score.

Panic is a very well made movie. It also contains excellent acting and the cinematography is a 10 of 10. I really liked the way the movie was photographed. It had a noirish component to it but also curiously, the look of the film, at times, had an 80's quality. If I hadn't known this was such a recent release I'd have thought it came out in the mid 80's. The atmosphere and photography, as well, as the highly charged performances were what I enjoyed most.Unfortunately, the movie is really difficult to watch. There are a handful of movies that, while very obviously maybe well made are just almost to intense. That's the way I felt about Panic. It isn't gory but is very emotionally upsetting though the characters, all of them, hold an element of fascination as well.SPOILERS THROUGHOUT: There is an element of gloom throughout the movie that does not let up. Of coarse, the plot, is in itself, pretty much a downer but Panic while being a very good film in a lot of ways, is so disturbing while watching that it's hard to get through it. Some movies, such as American Beauty, which it's been compared to, are disturbing but in a good way. With American Beauty I felt riveted to my seat. With Panic, after a bit, I just felt like turning it off. It made an impression on me alright, but not the way I'd have wanted.This movie is obviously meant to disturb and it did. There's not a lot to criticize in panic but it's not a movie I could give an 8, 9 or 10 to, simply because I wasn't transfixed as in other films that might be equally disturbing but contain the element of keeping you glued to your seat as well. Panic is a good movie. It is thought provoking, well acted, emotionally brutal and sad. It also has that element of complete realism and really gets you thinking about one's neighbors, friends, coworkers etc-who they really are and what secrets they maybe carrying around. I admire Panic tremendously and do plan to watch it again, it seems the type of film where the second time around might make better viewing, knowing what it's about etc but as of right now my vote is 6.5 of 10. The movie touched, it disturbed, but it also drained. As far as performances go though-10's all the way through.