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, Deborah Kara Unger, Ian McNeice

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
Miranda Frigon	...	Car Crash Woman

Storyline

The car of successful author Anna Rivers is found disabled next to the river, the thought being that she accidentally fell into the river while trying to change a flat tire. Her dead body is found upstream several weeks later, consistent with the accidental death theory. Based on incidents around him, her grieving husband, architect Jonathan Rivers, decides several months later to visit with Raymond Price, who approached John prior to Anna's body being found with news that she was trying to contact him from beyond. At that time, John was skeptical of Raymond's claims of electronic voice phenomena (EVP): that he is contacted from the beyond through electronic means - radio, television - which he is able to record. Along with Sarah Tate, another of Raymond's "clients" whose fiancé passed away, John becomes obsessed with EVP as he gets more and more audio and video messages, however fuzzy, from Anna from beyond. That obsession takes a slight change in focus when John believes that Anna ...

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Plot Keywords:

supernatural horror | tape over mouth | river | obsession | architect | 

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Taglines:

The line separating the living from the dead has been crossed...

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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

Did You Know?

Trivia

The recording used in the trailer that is attributed to Stanley Searles ("I love you") is thought to be the "ghostly" voice of Searles, a former politician who died in 2002. The recording was said to have been made by Searles' daughter, a well-known EVP researcher named Karen Mossey.

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Goofs

(at around 17 mins) When Anna is carrying the bags of groceries on the videotape, the box of cereal is open.

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Quotes

Susie Tomlinson: It's almost like she didn't die. Two days ago I get a call from my father, and then you show up?
Jonathan Rivers: I don't understand. I've been getting messages from your grandmother for a week now.
Susie Tomlinson: No, that's not possible, she just passed away two days ago.

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Crazy Credits

White static and flickering, subliminal images appear over the opening credits. It then segues into the opening scene.

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Connections

Referenced in The Benchwarmers (2006)

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Soundtracks

Wear You Down
Written by Walt Vincent (as R. Walt Vincent)
Courtesy of Associated Production Music LLC

User Reviews

good moody turns into a muddle

Successful architect Jonathan Rivers (Michael Keaton) is overjoyed when his wife Anna (Chandra West) reveals her pregnancy. Then she disappears. Jonathan confronts Raymond Price (Ian McNeice) who's been following him. Raymond who lost his son tells him about Electronic Voice Phenomenon and that he has received messages from Anna. Her body is found having drowned. Six months later, Jonathan moves into an apartment and strange electronic things continue. He becomes convinced about EVP. He goes to Raymond who is now helping Sarah Tate (Deborah Kara Unger) with her lost fiancé. As he obsessively decipher the electronic signals, he encounters menacing spirits and even those who are not dead quite yet.

Michael Keaton is past his early successes and is yet to gain his resurgent accolades. It's a time period when he was a has-been doing limited work. If nothing else, this movie's success shows that he can still be the lead. I really like the cold static moody atmosphere. I don't think the son is necessary but it's where the story goes that leaves me a bit cold. The spirits are a disappointment. The near-death messages idea is where the movie goes down the wrong path. The moody ghost story turns into a muddled thriller. The spirits' climatic battle is a mess. This movie starts good but ends poorly.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Russia] UIP [France]

Country:

UK Canada USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 January 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

White Noise

Filming Locations:

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$10,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$24,113,565, 9 January 2005

Gross USA:

$56,386,759

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$91,196,419

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