Haven (2004)

I just so it on DVD now.

An OK script goes to waste on 'inspirational' camera shots which are copy-cat & sloppy. The editing is so bad, there's little point to discuss it. While some of the acting is decent, the accent of the local Caymenees is hard to understand some of the time, and harder still to believe it comes off real. Some plot-lines are meant to be connected in a clever way, but we have seen too much of this before, and some parts are so generic-made it's painful. There is no promise from this film - no new actors, nothing to carry this film even to be a has-been; it is a never-was.

Hopefully, we'll see no more work from the makers of Haven.

Fmovies: Speaking as a native Caymanian, I have to say I was especially impressed with this film. When news first got out of its production, I was sincerely hoping that it wouldn't amount to some lengthy, picturesque video brochure to attract further tourists to the island and, low and behold, it's anything but.

Haven is a gritty, fierce yet picturesque portrayal of realism surrounding Cayman's underground subcultures. From love to drugs to violence, Flowers and his team perform an astounding delivery of these themes through the use of raw, powerful drama, all the while winding around a multitude of heinous plots that grow and intertwine to the point of cataclysm. Brilliant.

Flowers is making a name for himself alright. And I'll be adding this thrill ride to my collection as soon as it hits DVD. Not jut because I'm a fellow Caymanian but because I consider this to be a great movie.

I have to say, I just saw this movie for the first time last night, and I think it portrayed the Cayman Islands as some drug infested little island. I am a descendant of the island and I am appalled to see that is how the island is being represented. Everyone in the movie spoke with a Jamaican accent and used phrases that are only used by Jamaicans. I cannot believe the Cayman people allowed this movie to be made and degrade this beautiful island where tourist goes to with their families for vacations. If I did not know better this would not be anywhere I'd want to go. Everywhere has drugs and crime, but this movie suggested that everywhere you go on the island that's all there is, the partying and the drugs and the killings. This Island is more than that and those who live there and depend on the tourist to survive should remember that. I vote this a ZERO.

A Cayman Island Descendant.

Haven fmovies. I am glad to hear that this film will finally be released, albeit on DVD. I saw 'Haven' at the Toronto film festival and have been awaiting it's release ever since. I did think that the film was a bit choppy, which was mildly distracting, but that the overall ride was great. In following up his critically acclaimed short 'Swallow' with 'Haven', his feature film debut, Frankie Flowers proves that he is more than capable of writing and directing a full length film.

While it is a difficult task to jump back and forth in a timeline, from sub plot to sub plot, while keeping an audience interested; entertained; and able to follow, I believe that Flowers has done a splendid job despite sacrificing some of the continuity for stylistic shot making. Tarantino has tried, despite box office success, somewhat in vain in this regard for years. Movies such as Magnolia have come along and disappointed and perhaps the only film in recent years to truly excel in this style was Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's '21 grams'.

With strong performances from an ensemble cast of well known Hollywood stars and unknown local talent, 'Haven' is well acted from start to finish. Orlando Bloom leads the way with an excellent performance as the going nowhere fast 'shy', and proves that he can portray a modern day man between timepiece and fantasy blockbusters. Dare I say he would be better off, from an acting portfolio sense, taking on more of these roles.

I highly recommend 'Haven', especially in this age of over the top; special effects no plot movies. I hope that Flowers continues to be given opportunities to hone his craft and I look forward to his next piece.

First let me explain my rating-system. I consider a 5 a movie that's somewhat watchable, a 6 is already a good movie. I gave Haven a 3 because the soundtrack was good and the acting wasn't horrible. Now over to the bad stuff...

I wouldn't recommend this film to anyone. Usually in my reviews I try to say something like: 'this movie isn't recommended for people who don't like slow-developing plots' or 'it's not for people who want the plot wrapped up neatly in the end'. But I can honestly and objectively say this movie was just one of poor quality. The biggest problem is the plot itself. The storyline is multi-linear, characters are being followed and they're all supposed to be connected in one way or another through an event or multiple events. Examples of brilliant use of this method is seen in Amores Perros, 21 Grams, Crash and Magnolia. In these films the story lines have similar prominent themes and the characters are all connected physically. Every character adds more elements to the story until we have a complex web of story lines, constantly crossing paths and having effects on one another. I know this sounds confusing but watch Amores Perros and Crash and you'll know exactly what I mean. Haven makes one fruitless attempt after another to be clever until all we end up with is an unsorted mess of scenes thrown together in a wanna-be movie. That's the best way to describe Haven: it wants to be a lot of things but ends up being rubbish.

The thing that irritated me even more then the gimmick mentioned above was the chronologically scattered framework that was used. I feel like they realized the plot and characters of their attempted intelligent film were overly simple, and they tried to jazz it up with a chronologically scattered framework to fool people into thinking they're watching something clever. I heard the story was chronological at the premiere of the Toronto film festival and then they re-edited the whole film to create the flashbacks. That's not the way to write a story with a scrambled up chronology. You have to actually write the script like that (with chronology switching from the start of your story) or the storyline will be a mess. The storyline has to flow naturally, even if you use chronology like that. A prime example a brilliantly written script that uses the same technique is Memento. The technique used actually adds something to the suspense of the story.

Nope, don't waste your time on this. I usually only write IMDb reviews for films I like but this film was just too dreadful for words, I felt it was my duty to stop another human being from seeing it. I don't see why anyone should see this movie. It's certainly not to be entertained and I hardly think anyone would be enlightened after seeing a film like this.

3/10 and I'm being generous.

I count myself lucky to have been able to see this movie at the Toronto Film Festival where it premiered. I thought the movie to be a brilliant look at the culture, something we as Americans don't usually see. The acting was wonderful from everyone in it. I enjoyed the way it was edited together, following separate story lines individually, then bringing them together in the end. I was completely surprised that this film was not immediately grabbed up and sent to screens everywhere. Then again, perhaps it was just too deep for some. I had no trouble following the action, although I've heard comments that some people found it confusing. Perhaps they weren't paying attention...

Hopefully without giving anything away for those who haven't seen it yet... I felt so terribly bad for Shy at the end of the movie.

I can't wait for Haven to hit big screens everywhere. I want all my friends to see it! BRAVO to everyone involved in its production.

Pat Grant

UPDATE (Oct. 2006): I see Haven is FINALLY coming to theatres... However I have heard that the movie went through a MAJOR re-edit and is a lot different that the version we saw in Toronto. I'm sorry to hear that. But I will go see it and support it, no matter what. It has a great cast.