White Noise (2005)

An architect's desire to speak with his wife from beyond the grave, becomes an obsession with supernatural repercussions.

Director:

Geoffrey Sax

Writer:

Niall Johnson

Stars:

Michael Keaton, Chandra West, Deborah Kara Unger

1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Michael Keaton	...	Jonathan Rivers
Chandra West	...	Anna Rivers
Deborah Kara Unger	...	Sarah Tate
Ian McNeice	...	Raymond Price
Sarah Strange	...	Jane
Nicholas Elia	...	Mike Rivers
Mike Dopud	...	Detective Smits
Marsha Regis	...	Police Woman
Brad Sihvon	...	Minister
Mitchell Kosterman	...	Work Man
L. Harvey Gold	...	Business Man
Amber Rothwell	...	Susie Tomlinson
Suzanne Ristic	...	Mary Freeman
Keegan Connor Tracy	...	Mirabelle Keegan
Miranda Frigon	...	Carol Black - Car Crash Woman

Storyline

When the unexpected happens, architect Jonathan Rivers has become a grieving widower, wallowing in deep confusion over the death of his wife. But a paranormal expert approaches Jonathan with the unlikely: the ability to hear his wife from beyond the grave. Through a form of unusual communication known as EVP (Electronic Voice Phenomenon), Jonathan will finally be able to see his wife. But in doing so, Jonathan has drawn himself into a much more complex situation when his curiosity becomes an obsession. Only that obsession will have him confront those not of this world, and some of them don't approve of Jonathan's interference with their destructive nature.

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Plot Keywords:

architect | obsession | voice | grave | river | 

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Taglines:

TV, radio, even telephone... new door of the spirits

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Genres:

Drama | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for violence, disturbing images and language

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [ru] UIP [fr]

Country:

UK Canada USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 January 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

Voces del más allá

Filming Locations:

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$10,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$61,569 (South Africa) (29 April 2005)

Gross:

$158,714 (South Africa) (29 April 2005)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, Gold Circle Films, White Noise UK Ltd.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

On the DVD Commentary, Michael Keaton admitted to "phoning in" some of his scenes, and apologized to director Geoffrey Sax.

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Goofs

When John is at Carol Black's funeral, he stops to Carol Black's husband. A bald man with dark rimmed glasses walks past them to exit the church, and takes an obvious look at Carol Black's husband. The camera then focuses on John for a couple seconds. When the camera again focuses on Carol Black's husband, the same bald man with dark rimmed glasses walks past them to exit the church.

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Quotes

Jonathan Rivers: [Anna has just gotten off the phone with John's ex-wife] What did she say?
Anna Rivers: She said she can't make it.
Mike Rivers: Does that mean I get to skip school?
Anna Rivers: No, it means I take you instead. Nice try.
Jonathan Rivers: Was good try, though...

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Crazy Credits

The Universal logo seems to shrink in size.

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Connections

Referenced in Hearing Is Believing: Actual EVP Sessions (2005)

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Soundtracks

"In My Nursery"
Written by Steve Martin
Courtesy of Killer Tracks

User Reviews

Are some voices better off not being heard?

Interesting. Intense. Somewhat original. All words to describe a conversation with Johnny Betts. But they also apply to Michael Keaton's White Noise. What we have here is a ghost story that tackles the subject of electronic voice phenomenon, or, as the cool kids like to call it - EVP.

For those of you who, unlike Johnny Betts, aren't master ghost hunters, EVP is the alleged communication by spirits through the white noise of staticky radio stations, television stations, and other electronic devices. People truly believe in it, and if you do a quick search on the Internet then you can find plenty of websites with audio files they say prove the existence of EVP. Detractors will brush this off with explanations of the "chaos theory" and cross modulation. I'll let you do your own research if you're interested in the subject.

If you're looking for a factual exploration of EVP's possible legitimacy, then you won't find it in White Noise. This is a movie that takes a subject popular with ghost hunters and glorifies it. It reminds me a little of The Mothman Prophecies, which was a fictionalized account of what was supposed to be a "true story." I have no problem with that. That's what movies are all about.

Michael Keaton crawls out from underneath whatever rock he's been under, does his best "Bruce Willis in The Sixth Sense" impersonation, and dives into the world of receiving messages from the dead. Folks, you can nitpick the logic to death if you want, and trust me, most critics are. "Why would he just put his successful life on hold and spend all his time trying to receive messages from his wife through a bunch of radio and TV static?" Dunno. The tragic death of a spouse can do weird things to people. Plus, you know, IT'S A MOVIE! And in the movie, he actually does receive messages from the dead. I guess he figured he'd try it; it worked, so he got more involved. Lighten up. It's called fiction.

"Yeah, well, if his wife wanted to contact him, then why wouldn't she send him clearer messages? Why does it have to be through static?" BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT EVP IS ALL ABOUT! Take it up with the proponents of EVP, not the movie. I totally agree that one of the things that makes so many people skeptical about EVP is that the messages are never complex. If I heard an EVP that said, "Tell Johnny Betts that the afterlife rules, and he should keep the Movie Mark going strong," then I'd probably be convinced. But what we get is a lot of one syllable words and sounds strung together. That's not the movie's fault. Deal with it and move on.

As some of you know, I'm a huge fan of the thriller/horror genre. Admittedly, White Noise isn't one of the best of all time in the genre, but that's OK. It didn't convince me to run home, record a static TV channel for hours, and then play it back to see if Uncle Jack was sending me a message from the great beyond. Like an apology for that little streaking stunt that completely ruined my 16th birthday party. However, what the movie did do is entertain me. The mystery is deliberately paced, it kept my interest, and it provided some creepy moments along the way.

Things start to get pretty intense near the end of the movie, and some people might not be happy with the finale. But keep in mind that trying to communicate with the dead is a bit of a dark subject. Some people, as the movie depicts, think that if they can contact their dead relatives then they'll have hope, they'll know all is right in the afterlife. They want some sort of message for closure. But I'm just curious, what if that message is, "Burning. Hell. I screwed up." ??? I'm guessing that'd be a bit of a kick in the pants.

But getting back to the movie... if there's good in the afterlife, there has to be evil as well, right? In the movie, contacting the dead initially seems harmless enough. But why would you think only the good would respond if you create that human/afterlife portal? What would happen if evil decided to communicate as well? White Noise has a viewpoint on that subject, and you can't expect everything to be cute and cuddly.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna take a closer listen to this static coming from the radio. Let's see. Sounds like Uncle Jack! I can just make it out... "Johnny. Reviews. Not funny. Quit. Now." Um, yeah, just as I thought - nothing but a little cross modulation! THE GIST White Noise is an interesting take on the ghost story, using the subject of EVP as its backdrop. It isn't what I'd call scary, but it's got its share of creepy moments and effective jump scenes. If you're looking for a docu-drama on the scientific accuracy of EVP then you might be disappointed, but if you're in the mood for a few chills to start the year then White Noise just might suit you.

Rating: 4 (out of 5)