Godsend (2004)

A couple agree to have their deceased son cloned, under the supervision of an enigmatic doctor but bizarre things start to happen years after his rebirth.

Director:

Nick Hamm

Writer:

Mark Bomback

Stars:

Greg Kinnear, Rebecca Romijn, Robert De Niro

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Greg Kinnear	...	Paul Duncan
Rebecca Romijn	...	Jessie Duncan (as Rebecca Romijn-Stamos)
Robert De Niro	...	Richard Wells
Cameron Bright	...	Adam Duncan
Merwin Mondesir	...	Maurice, Young Thug
Sava Drayton	...	Young Thug #2
Jake Simons	...	Dan Sandler
Elle Downs	...	Clara Sandler
Edie Inksetter	...	Footlocker Cashier
Raoul Bhaneja	...	Samir Miklat
Jenny Cooper	...	Sandra Shaw (as Jenny Levine)
Thomas Chambers	...	Jordan Shaw
Munro Chambers	...	Max Shaw
Jeff Christensen	...	Hal Shaw
Deborah Odell	...	Tanya

Storyline

After their young son, Adam (Bright), is killed in an accident, a couple (Kinnear, Romijn-Stamos) approach an expert (De Niro) in stem cell research about bringing him back to life through an experimental and illegal cloning and regeneration process. When Adam comes back to them, however, he's.. different...

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Plot Keywords:

birthday | boy | doctor | clone | cloning | 

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Taglines:

If someone you love was taken from you, how far would you go to bring him back from the dead?

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Genres:

Drama | Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for violence including frightening images, a scene of sexuality and some thematic material

Details

Official Sites:

Central Partnership [ru] Lions Gate Entertainment - The Godsend Institute

Country:

USA Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 April 2004 (USA)

Also Known As:

El enviado

Filming Locations:

King City, Ontario, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$25,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$89,961 (South Africa) (20 August 2004)

Gross:

$89,961 (South Africa) (20 August 2004)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lions Gate Films, Artists Production Group (APG), 2929 Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Before the release of this movie, Lions Gate Films set up two official websites: one conventional site with movie information, and one site that appeared to be a promotional tool for the (fictional) cloning institute depicted in the movie. The website gave an email address and phone number (1-888-699-2672) for the "Godsend Institute;" calling the number resulted in a recorded message giving the institute's office hours. Several news outlets reported that when a few bereaved parents called or emailed the fake institute to inquire about having their children genetically reconstituted, the studio started responding to them and explaining that it was just a movie tie-in and not a real laboratory. Similar advertisements for fictional medical procedures and clinics were also produced as parts of the advertising campaigns for Gattaca and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

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Goofs

At the end of the movie when Zachary pulls Adam into the closet you can clearly hear the doors close yet later the door is cracked open.

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Quotes

[after the fight in the church]
Richard Wells: [in his car slapping the horn all shaken up] Why? Why? Why, didn't he listen?

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Soundtracks

"Make It Bounce"
Written by Ali Dee and Vincent Alfieri
Performed by Cham Pain
Published by Canvas One Music (BMI)
Courtesy of Deetown Productions

User Reviews

Not one to see twice, even with the cloning element.

I guess this film didn't really grip me. You knew from the start where the film was heading, but it seemed to take its sweet time about getting there. Perhaps that's why I found myself nodding off several times, only to be awoken by the obligatory, and repeated use of, shock tactics throughout the film.

I can't really think of anything positive to say about this film, but neither can I say anything greatly negative. It was neither good, nor bad. In fact, watching it was very much like being trapped in limbo. There was little to stimulate the audience's minds through most of the movie.

It's also irritating to see Hollywood moralising about the evils of cloning through the use of film. I'd hesitate to say it was right, but the last thing reasoned debate on the subject needs is idiot screenwriters cashing in on public fears (and fears that are generated by media misrepresentation, at that) and adding more fuel to the fire. What next, a movie about people turning into flies because they ate genetically modified food crops?

This film isn't very good and you won't be seeing it twice even if you do have the foolishness, like me, to watch it once. Lets just hope that this is one film that Hollywood decides NOT to clone in the future.