November 5, 1997

This is a thriller marked by hand-wringing when gut-twisting would have worked better. Solid performances and a highly polished production help this mystery thriller, but it needed more mystery and suspense.

Leslie Lehr Spirson's script establishes interesting characters yet doesn't develop enough suspects, clues, red herrings, plot twists or emotional charge to create the needed tension.

It's about a young woman who received a heart from a murdered donor. Plagued by nightmares of the violent death, she determines to investigate the circumstances of her gift and finds a strange connection to her own life.

Louise Fletcher is superb but she's wasted in this saccharine role. Madchen Amick, Pamela Bellwood, David Packer and Tom Schanley never get the scenes that would really turn them loose.

In contrast, the production makes the most out of the locations. But like the actors, editor Bob Wyman doesn't have the flames to make a fire.

(USA) 9 tonight

Copyright November 1997 The Hollywood Reporter.

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