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"FELICIA'S JOURNEY"
(1999) (Bob Hoskins, Elaine Cassidy) (PG-13)

Alcohol/
Drugs
Blood/Gore Disrespectful/
Bad Attitude
Frightening/
Tense Scenes
Guns/
Weapons
Moderate Mild Extreme Heavy None
Imitative
Behavior
Jump
Scenes
Music
(Scary/Tense)
Music
(Inappropriate)
Profanity
Mild None Extreme None Minor
Sex/
Nudity
Smoking Tense Family
Scenes
Topics To
Talk About
Violence
Moderate Minor Heavy Moderate Moderate


QUICK TAKE:
Drama/Suspense: While searching in England for her boyfriend who's seemingly disappeared, a young and pregnant Irish woman encounters a friendly and seemingly eccentric middle-aged man who decides to help her, but may turn out to be someone she wasn't expecting.
PLOT:
Felicia (ELAINE CASSIDY) is a pregnant young Irish woman who's traveled to England looking for her boyfriend Johnny (PETER McDONALD). Having been given an ultimatum by her father to give up Johnny -- who reportedly joined the British Army, their archenemy -- or move out, Felicia chose the latter. This is despite not knowing exactly where or what Johnny's doing, except that she believes he works in a lawnmower factory.

While searching through an industrial town, Felicia encounters Joseph Hidlitch (BOB HOSKINS), a middle-aged catering manager whose little eccentricities -- he cooks step by step with an old black and white cooking program featuring French TV personality, Gala (ARSINÉE KHANJIAN) -- seem quaint and charming. Although he initially only gives her directions to places she might check for Johnny, he eventually offers to give her a ride out of town -- where he's reportedly going to see his sick wife -- where she might find her boyfriend.

Unbeknownst to Felicia, however, Joseph has no wife, but does have a collection of videotapes of other young women he's "helped" in the past. As the increasingly psychotic man continues to help Felicia with her quest, little does she know what waits in store for her.

WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?
Unless they're fans of someone in the cast or of director Atom Egoyan ("The Sweet Hereafter") it's extremely unlikely.
WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: PG-13
For mature thematic elements and related disturbing images.
CAST AS ROLE MODELS:
  • BOB HOSKINS plays a catering manager whose little eccentricities actually hide a larger and malevolent psychosis of preying upon young women.
  • ELAINE CASSIDY plays a young Irish woman who's in search of her missing boyfriend partially because she's pregnant by him.
  • PETER McDONALD plays that boyfriend who hit the road and never again contacted his pregnant girlfriend.
  • CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO

    HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE


    Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit?
    Then read OUR TAKE of this film.


    (Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below).


    OUR WORD TO PARENTS:
    The following is a brief summary of the content found in this PG-13 rated drama. Although we don't see any actual acts of homicide, the main character is a serial killer who drugs a woman and plans to kill her (there's evidence that he's done the same to other women in the past). Once the killer's motivation is uncovered, most of the rest of the film has an ominous tone to it, with some occasional, suspenseful scenes thrown in. Some violence is seen on videotape, and a person is seen preparing to commit suicide.

    The killer obviously has extreme bad attitudes (as do some others), and encourages a pregnant young woman to have an abortion (which may cause some to see her as having a bad attitude as well). Beyond the young woman being pregnant, we see a fantasized view of the man having sex with the young woman that shows heavy breathing, movement and the sight of her slightly pleasured facial reactions.

    Some tense family moments are present, as is brief, but minor profanity and some drinking and smoking. Should you still be concerned about the film's appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home, we suggest that you take a closer look at our detailed content listings.


    ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE
  • People drink in a pub and we later see people drinking outside a pub.
  • Joe has wine several times with different dinners.
  • Joe pours some sort of liquor for himself and Felicia.
  • People drink in a bar/billiards room where Joe has a beer (as does Johnny).
  • Joe pours wine for himself and Felicia.
  • Joe grinds up sleeping pills and puts them in Felicia's cocoa to drug her.
  • BLOOD/GORE
  • Joe makes some near regurgitative sounds when his mother force feeds some liver to him (and then makes similar sounds while remembering this). Later, he falls over in his chair while eating dinner and some chewed up food lies next to his open mouth as he remembers the same.
  • We see a clip from a movie as well as a flashback to Joe's childhood where he sees a severed head on a tray (but beyond being severed it isn't particularly bloody or gory).
  • We see a small blood stain on the back of Felicia's nightgown (presumably related to the abortion she just had).
  • DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE
  • Obviously Joe has extreme cases of both toward Felicia and the many other young women he's preyed upon.
  • Johnny has both for getting Felicia pregnant and then leaving town and never contacting her again. His mother is then mean to Felicia by not telling her where he is and for burning the letters she gave for her to send to Johnny.
  • Felicia's father is mean to her, calling her a whore (and saying that she's worse than that) and saying that she's carrying the enemy inside her (for being pregnant) and telling her that she can't live at home anymore if she's going to continue keeping company with Johnny.
  • Some viewers may take offense at Joe encouraging and then slightly pressuring Felicia to have an abortion and the fact that she eventually does (we see her face during the procedure).
  • Joe steals money from Felicia's backpack (and does something similar in a flashback where he takes money from a wallet before burying it under some dirt).
  • Joe grinds up sleeping pills and puts them in Felicia's cocoa to drug her.
  • FRIGHTENING SCENES
  • Once we're aware of Joe's sinister secret, the rest of the film takes on an ominous and somewhat suspenseful aura from that point until the end of the film (although it's not completely constant throughout).
  • We see a clip from a movie as well as a flashback to Joe's childhood where he sees a severed head on a tray (but beyond being severed it isn't particularly bloody or gory).
  • Joe has some sort of attack while eating dinner and falls to the floor. We then realize that he's having a flashback to his childhood where he gagged from his mother putting liver into his mouth.
  • We briefly see videotape footage of Joe struggling with other young women in his car as they try to get out.
  • Joe grinds up sleeping pills and puts them in Felicia's cocoa to drug her. We then watch as she drinks this and he finally reveals what he's done with the past young women. Later, she then tries to get out of the house while he tries to stops her.
  • A person commits suicide by hanging themselves (we see them put their head into a noose and then jump, but don't see the actual hanging).
  • GUNS/WEAPONS
  • None.
  • IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR
  • Phrases: "Whore" and "Damn you to hell."
  • Joe grinds up sleeping pills and puts them in Felicia's cocoa to drug her.
  • A person commits suicide by hanging themselves (we see them put their head into a noose and then jump, but don't see the actual hanging).
  • JUMP SCENES
  • None.
  • MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE)
  • An extreme amount of ominous and suspenseful music plays during the film.
  • MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE)
  • None.
  • PROFANITY
  • At least 1 damn and 1 use of "Oh my God," "God" and "For God's sakes" are used as exclamations.
  • SEX/NUDITY
  • We learn that Felicia is pregnant by Johnny (there's a brief scene where she mentions that she "missed a few times").
  • A young woman mentions the "part of a woman that men want to use" on one of Joe's tapes, while another mentions that she's a prostitute (and says that being pregnant reminds her of what she did and still does -- have sex with paying customers).
  • Joe briefly stops to view a scene from a movie where a belly dancer-like woman shows just a bit of cleavage while performing.
  • We see Joe's imagined view of him having sex with Felicia. As such, we see just his shoulder above her face and shoulders (he's obviously on top of her), along with a tiny bit of heavy breathing, movement and the sight of her slightly pleasured facial reactions to what he's doing.
  • SMOKING
  • Some background people in a pub smoke.
  • TENSE FAMILY SCENES
  • We hear that Felicia's mother died when she was just four and then see her present day father being mean to her, calling her a whore (for being pregnant) and telling her that she can't live at home anymore if she's going to continue keeping company with Johnny.
  • Joe tells Felicia that his wife died (but we know this is a lie -- he doesn't have a wife).
  • TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT
  • Joe's problem and obsession with his mother.
  • The treatment Felicia receives from the hands of her father and from Johnny.
  • Felicia's pregnancy (while unmarried) and the abortion she has.
  • The animosity between some peoples of Ireland and England.
  • VIOLENCE
  • We see a clip from a movie as well as a flashback to Joe's childhood where he sees a severed head on a tray (but beyond being severed it isn't particularly bloody or gory).
  • We briefly see videotape footage of Joe struggling with other young women in his car as they try to get out.
  • Joe grinds up sleeping pills and puts them in Felicia's cocoa to drug her. He then suggests that he buried all of the other young women.
  • A person commits suicide by hanging themselves (we see them put their head into a noose and then jump, but don't see the actual hanging).



  • Reviewed October 5, 1999 / Posted November 19, 1999

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