Danika (2006) Online

It seems that many people couldn't understand this movie and were unwilling to accept their own limitations and therefore decided the movie was to blame. Reading some of those comments made me in turn annoyed enough to post here for the first time. The short version for those who haven't seen the movie is there is no 'twist' in the now common cinematic style there is only the version inside Danika's head and the revelation of the reality.

For the hard of understanding I'll break this down into simple terms. DO NOT READ THIS IF YOU HAVEN'T YET SEEN THE MOVIE.

There are basically only 3 scenes in this movie.

1) Danika's fantasy life where she rejects the terrible thing that happened to her and tries to substitute her own reality. It doesn't work for her, she sees glimmers of reality through it (herself as a bag-lady, her "brother" dying from her "Mothers" neglect which is clearly her own guilt and many more). If you are looking for the reality of the movie imagine this is what is going through her head as she sits on the bench at the end of the movie. 2) The event that caused the break down, killing her kids. It is as though she is remembering the truth sitting on that bench but it is too painful for her and she quickly retreats back to the fantasy (her kids come back to life and join her and her husband) 3) The real world present day where she is down and out listening to parts of scene one and scene two replay in her head constantly courtesy of her Schizophrenia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schizophrenia)

The whole film up into the last scene is there to give you an impression of what being her and being schizophrenic is. She completely believes her version of reality and the only way to share that impression with the viewer is to "lie" that this is the reality of the film right up until the final scene.

So yes this film has no plot, it's a snapshot of an insane mind. Yes Danika's over protective soccer mom persona is fundamentally unlikable but that person never existed, she is a reflection of her very real guilt over causing the death of her children.

The hallucinations within the scene one fantasy are perhaps the weakest part of the film, they are used as tool to keep a viewer interested long enough to see the film through and while the provide clues that nothing else that is happening is real or at least that there is some level of menatl issue. They do perhaps serve to confuse more than illuminate in some situations. They are however representative of the way a schizophrenic's beliefs may vary and may represent her additional fears and paranoia.

In short you are not ever likely to see a film that will give a better impression of what its like to be insane in this fashion (i.e. believing scene 1 is some kind of reality) but if you can't handle a film that does not have a completely sequential plot, or a writer changing the 'rules' of a film to make a point this will be wasted on you.

Relatively new cinematic team of director Ariel Vromen and writer Joshua Leibner pounce onto the scene with a surprisingly fine little film that has basically gone unnoticed. DANIKA is a story that demands the viewer's careful attention and rewards that attention with a finely wrought surprise ending. This is a tough movie to review: almost anything that is said about it diminishes the impact of a fresh look.

Danika (the superb and grossly underused actress Marisa Tomei) is a beautiful, well-dressed successful professional woman, loved by her husband Randy (Craig Bierko) and her children Kurt (Kyle Gallner), Lauren (Nicki Prian) and Brian (Ridge Canipe). Yet even from the opening scenes we can tell something is amiss: Danika 'sees' disturbing things, terrifying events and people that alter her attention to her job and her family. She visits a young psychiatrist Evelyn (Regina Hall) who becomes her confidant - the only person who accepts that Danika is witnessing disturbing sights. A mixture of critical pieces of disastrous events flash before Danika's eyes as well as flashbacks to some years back when her children were young. Danika overcompensates for her fears by being an overprotective mother, an unfortunate trait that begins to fracture her family.

The pace of the film changes to rapid fire events as the reasons for Danika's visions become clear: we finally see just what made this brilliant and strong woman the victim of a terrified and disturbed psyche and the manner in which each of the characters in the story impacts this discovery is well-illuminated. The surprise ending scene is a stunner and one that will haunt the viewer.

Marisa Tomei makes this very difficult, well-written role completely believable. She is an actress of enormous gifts. Likewise the remainder of the cast offers such fine ensemble work that credit must be given director Ariel Vromen for being a young talent on the rise. Yes, there are some portions of the film that beg credibility but then that is what delusional thinking is about. This is a tight little film that deserves attention. Grady Harp

I saw Danika's world premiere at the CineVegas film festival this past weekend. It was an excellent psychological thriller with many twists and turns. Marisa Tomei is exceptionally convincing in the lead role as a soccer mom tortured by visions which could be premonitions or hallucinations. The action in the movie intersperses tension-building dialog and dramatically shocking visuals with tremendous effectiveness. The supporting cast is also exceptional in the roles and convince you of the impact that Danika's visions are having upon them. Regina Hall is especially impressive as Danika's psychologist.

I would highly recommend seeking this movie out if it comes to a festival or theater near you!

Let's see: I had great expectations towards this film, since Danika pretty much has the potential to be a fairly enjoyable thriller, but to my disappointment, it turned out to be one of those films that deliberately try to be confusing just for kicks. I don't know about the others, but I'd say I had my share of these kinds of psychological thrillers that usually lead to the same disappointing endings and nonsensical sequences. You know, the typical soft-horror/thriller/drama flick in which the main character keeps having hallucinations and visions about horrible things happening around her and the rest of the characters are dead worried but they still don't do anything to help her out. Even though Ariel Vromen succeeds to create a puzzling atmosphere and there are two or three enjoyable moments, I'd say that these 'twist in the end' fever has been pretty much overdone already. This film pretty much offers a nice variety of pointless hallucination sequences in which Marisa Tomei, giving a flawless performance, always repeats the same situations but in different scenarios. Obviously, it ends up getting tedious after a a while.

'Danika' is the story of a genuinely desperate housewife, whose main fear is to lose one of her children or the three of them, for that matter. This obsession of overprotecting her kids, turns out to be the result of a traumatic childhood experience, in which poor little Danika loses her brother in a road accident. During the course of the film, the mentally unstable woman, appears basically smothering her children and over-worrying about every little thing, making the rest of her family lose their patience. However, it is clear to Danika that something is definitely not okay with her, as she realizes that she's experiencing weird hallucinations that turn her life into hell on earth.

This film offers a few sequences that promise some sort of explanation whatsoever or at least a tiny little connection to the end. Nevertheless, just like many other recent flicks out there with a twist in the end, 'Danika' turned out to be ambiguous for no reason and it tries to deceive the audience and doubt about their own intelligence. My advice is to avoid this film, unless you are bored and you have nothing else to see. I wouldn't label it as 'unwatchable', because that would be unfair, considering that there are a few good things that deserve to be appreciated, but it's mostly Marisa Tomei's performance actually. 'Danika' is not terribly bad, but frankly, I was utterly disappointed when the good atmosphere and the few achievements were suddenly overshadowed by the silly ending. I wouldn't recommend this... sorry.

I watched quite a few films last year, and "Danika" made it to the top of my list for intellectual quality and brilliance. It's hard to comment on it without giving away details and spoilers, so let me just say, this movie takes your full attention (don't cook dinner and try to keep up!) Tomei is NEVER a disappointment. It's a wonder she isn't in more films these days. She is a little older than her fresh-faced "Only You" days, but time has settled kindly on her, giving her more character instead of so-called 'flaws.' The ending will leave you in somewhat of a stunned silence, and then you will sit there and watch all of the loose ends tie themselves neatly together. You will not walk away from this movie confused or wondering what it was all about - unless you weren't paying close attention all along. I admit, there will be boo-hooers who dislike it because they haven't the patience or the depth to grasp the true meaning behind this film, but this is why Danika is a work of art and it's star a true artist. If it were neat and pat like any good mainstream film, it wouldn't be the hidden jewel that it is. Many will pass it by, others will scoff and tear it apart. Let them. Those who grasp it will be those who tend to think a bit deeper than the first layer of the onion. Danika is a piece of abstract art - viewing it from different angles, you will see details that aren't visible to the casual onlooker.

Not for the squeamish, pick it up sometime and give it the credit it deserves!

Danika is about a young mother whose hallucinations and reality mix together in a strange story of a life gone wrong. A great family and nice life slowly deteriorates as experiences get stranger and stranger. The perfect life starts digressing with each flask of knowledge until the audience is left with nothing. In the end, everything comes together in a powerful tale of woe. Close to the end of the end of the film you are almost guessing what actually happened, but it does surprise. Tomei does a wonderful job and it is a wonder that she is not in more mainstream films. The rest of the cast does a nice job during the film. Technically a class A- film with few continuity errors and a typical story told in a very atypical way.

Psychological thriller .. well the thrills are a bit artificial and unrelated to the story but there's a bit of suspension still.

Large parts of the movie happen in the main characters mind. The ending is crucial to the integrity of the story. Until you get there you're feeling a bit like "whats the point of this flick?".

I personally thought it was a bit too dragging and slow to rank anywhere higher than 7/10, but a decent psycho-drama still.

Makes you think a bit to understand what its about. Look at the vote statistics, very young people vote low for some weird reason :-)

Gave avg 5 pts for the implementation, but the ending raises it to 7. Of course the fact that you find your self wondering whats going on during the film also is very positive.

We really enjoyed the first part of DANIKA, but it got more and more confusing as it went along. As the drama progressed, we held out hope that the many questions we had would be answered, but that did not happen. After the movie, we went online and searched and only THEN did we feel like we partially understood the movie. There are still lots of loose endings and unresolved questions, but maybe this movie was just too "psychologically thrilling" for us to understand! :)

When all was said and done, it felt like a waste of 80 minutes of our time. If you are someone who enjoys tidy endings to movies, DON'T rent/buy this one.

Danika had the potential to be a great movie but it ultimately went no where. There was massive build up and it seemed like there would be a big pay off but then the ending ruined the entire movie.

If you ignore the last 20 minutes or so of the movie, the acting was great, the characters had enough depth to draw you in and you will really want to see how it all plays out. Where are these visions coming from? Is Danika psychic? Is someone hurting her daughter or is her daughter hurting herself? Did her son kill the neighbors dog? Why is there such a tension between Danika and her husband if they had supposedly moved past him cheating on her so many years ago? Its that last 20 minutes that destroys it all. You find out everything you just saw was a lie. The kids died long before they got to that age and it was ALL a hallucination of a crazy bag lady.

I was really excited to see this film but it stumbled and fell at the very end. Bottom line? Don't waste your time.

There are numerous movies out there that handle psychosis and paranoia and some of them handle it pretty well. Danika most certainly does not.

The only way you could defend the setup of the movie is by saying that we as viewers see the world through the eyes of the disturbed Danika. Well, after 30 minutes of that, it becomes pretty annoying and tedious.

At first I thought the movie was setup to make it hard to follow what was happening. But in the end there was nothing connecting to anything in it. Non of the plot-points that were introduced during the repetitive scenes had any relevance to the eventual end of the movie. And the result is a viewer who is left feeling like a fool.

I believe that it was the directors intend to let the audience be unaware of what was real and what wasn't. But the moments of unclarity were too obvious to achieve that effect.

This movie has not much to show for besides a woman and her delusions. It is devoid of plot, impressive special effects or memorable acting.

Not recommended.

Overprotecting mum(3 children) finds husband(tired of her overprotecting side) cheating with their nanny at a motel. She kills her husband and after by accident crashes her car against a school bus, causing the death of all her children. This leads her to a life as bum on the streets and affects her mental condition. With that MENTAL CONDITION we get to see her view of what could have been if she had forgiven her husband and went to work that crucial day instead of the motel.

Good twist, but far too many psychotic sequences leading to a bizarre feeling of what the heck this movie is about. To be honest the movie is quite bad until you understand the twist and u have to endure at least 75 min of a freak show before that.

Good leading performance.

Without managing to understand the movie I'd give it 1/10. With managing to understand the movie 6/10.

Not a popcorn movie......

What a lame ending. I kept watching it to try to figure out just what was going on, and was so disappointed and confused when they revealed the ending. This movie made no sense. The only positive I can say is that I didn't turn it off because I genuinely wanted to find out what the heck was going on. But unfortunately, it just kept spiraling into more and more plot twists until nothing made sense. Is she having premonitions? I don't know. Is she crazy? I don't know. Are her kids in trouble? I don't know. Are we in the present or the past or the future now? I don't know. Is this all just a dream and Suzanne Plechette is lying next to us when we open our eyes? That would have been a better ending, honestly.

Skip this movie. You'll thank me.

After seeing the trailer for this, I was really excited to watch it. I got about 45 minutes into it when I realized that I had to go to work. I work at Blockbuster so I was telling everybody about this great movie coming out on Tuesday saying, "I'm only 45 minutes in but so far, it's really great!" Well, I finished it just now and I have to say, the ending wasn't all that great. I'm kind of upset because I really, REALLY liked the first hour but by the end, it was kind of mixed up and left me going, "I REALLY hope this isn't the end of the movie" and it was. Don't get me wrong, it's a "think about it after the movie is over" ending and I did but I really wish they would have ended it a bit better.

Great Story - Great Beginning - Great Middle - Okay End

I think far too many people are going into this film thinking it's a supernatural theme - it really isn't. I thought it would be as well (based off of the DVD case description) and I was pleasantly surprised to find that I was wrong about that when the final credits rolled.

Ultimately, this movie is a study of the effects of guilt on the human psyche and how our fears can ultimately consume us. Paying close attention to the movie is required to fully unravel the twist ending. If you're not watching it (or rewatching it) carefully, most likely you will miss out on important clues and end up disliking the movie. I thought the cast did an incredible job of being believable, especially Marisa who fluctuated beautifully between sanity and fantasy.

Is this the best movie I've ever seen? No... but I would recommend it to anyone who likes to be surprised.

One bit of advice for those people reading this review after watching the movie and not understanding it: go back and look >closely<, this time, to the items in the shopping cart at the end. Quite a few puzzle pieces that you need to put together to understand the twist are laid out perfectly for you.

I've just seen Danika and came here with the hope that I'd see a detailed explanation of what this movie was all about. I'm not the sharpest tool in the box when it comes to plots, so I often resort to the internet for enlightenment. This film is good but I guessed the kids where dead pretty early on in this very short movie. I somehow missed the point of the little girl that was abducted? I thought at the time this going to be a central part of the film (perhaps I missed something)? Also the bank robbery scene seemed somehow out of place given how the film progressed from there on. I wasn't bored at any point and everyone involved gave excellent performances. However, I did feel very let down once the so called twist was played. I'd vote this film at 6/10 and recommend a viewing (you might even fill in some gaps for me)

Bad, acting, irritating neurotic and annoying main character, no redeeming features. This plot has no originality or purpose. It would make absolutely no difference whether the scenes were in any order, it would make the same amount of sense, being none whatsoever. The film is a meaningless void that will hopefully soon be forgotten. I find it had to believe that any positive comment is placed by a legitimate user. The high rating for this movie shows a problem with studios creating accounts to inflate the rating of movies. Even the lead is embarrassed about this string of seemingly random scenes and wanted nothing to do with the finished product. I want my money back.

Marisa and Regina turn is great performances and the the writing itself makes this movie a winner. I was also impressed with Arials direction.

This movie is more of a Psycho thriller then a Hooror movie and I cant wait to see what Blue Omega has lined up in the future.

I would recommend this movie to anyone You will not be disappointed as it is a very good production and overall I give this Movie a 10 considering the budget was not that much and to pull off a masterpiece like this show you what good writing and directing can do for a film like this.

I cant say enough about how wild and mind teasing it truly is. I have already bought copies for all my family and friends.

Danika (Marisa Tomei) is a thirty-five years old overprotective mother with a beautiful family composed by her successful husband Randy (Craig Bierko), two sons - the teenager Kurt (Kyle Gallner) and the little Brian (Ridge Canipe), and one teenager daughter - Lauren (Nicki Prian). Danika is disturbed and near a breakdown, having dark and terrifying nightmares and daydreams; distracted in her work and consequently committing mistakes; and under psychiatric treatment with Dr. Evelyn (Regina Hall). Her problem was originated when her husband cheated her with the nanny of their children, breaking her confidence on him. The lack of attention caused by her disturbed mind leads her family to a tragedy.

"Danika" is an impressive and challenging American dark movie showing the complexity of the human mind. My interpretation of the story is very simple: after finding her beloved husband cheating her with the nanny of their children, Danika becomes an insecure, stressed and overprotective mother, affecting her professional life. While in her treatment with Dr. Evelyn, she revives her innermost hidden fears about the lack of confidence in her husband. This situation is very clear when Randy tells that she cannot forget and forgive him, after the incident with the police. Danika insists on not having a maid to help her, and while having a daydream driving her car with her children, she does not pay attention in the traffic light and is hit by a school bus, killing her children, but surviving. When the reporter asks the paramedic if she would survive, the other man responds "yes", but asks "how could she live?". She asks for her children and her imagination sees her happy family together again. In the last scene, we see the reality, i.e., how she survived, deranged and homeless. I am a fan of Marisa Tomei, and in "Danika" she is simply brilliant. The promising director Ariel Vromen and the writer Joshua Leibner have great beginning of career in the cinema industry. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Danika"

Danika plays with supernatural elements but is in fact a psychological thriller! For the horror fans there will not be enough scares! But the scares that were in this movie were very effective! I must admit that Marisa Tomei often got on my nerves,but if you see the ending you will understand why! And then it becomes clear that Marisa Tomei has done a wonderful job! The great thing about this movie is the use of hallucinations! You never know if it's real or not! They are so convincing that one minute you will doubt the main character! And the other minute you will believe her that she is having visions! Also I think that the ending they chose makes sense! I cannot go into more deeper without spoiling the plot! But having read several books on he subject it is not uncommon for this to happen! For this movie it is very important that you watch it closely otherwise you will miss important clues for understanding the ending! Great movie! Check it out!

Were it not for the fact that Marisa Tomei is one of most undervalued talents in modern film entertainment, and someone who has consistently delivered heartfelt characterizations in the past, I would have skipped "Danika" entirely. The teaser or blurb on the DVD made it out to seem like there was some kind of a psychic element in the plot, and given that "Medium" on NBC has been such a success, I thought that perhaps this film would be a surprise.

What was surprising was precisely how bad this movie really is.

Frankly, Marisa Tomei is now and has been for a long time, one of the truly luminous beauties in modern films. She's got a subtle way about herself, and a lovely speaking voice. She is expressive but not in a 'femme fatale' kind of way. None of that was put to use in this film from someone's creative Dead Zone.

Speaking of the Stephen King novel ( which we weren't, but hey, we should be ), and the film made from that story featuring Martin Sheen and Christopher Walken, there is ample evidence that this theme of trauma-induced precognition can be made believable, intimate, and effective. That is what made "Dead Zone" a four-star success.

That wasn't done here. There were plenty of "psychic" elements tossed into a mixer and poured out as a script, but that script started SOMEWHERE interesting and ended up going NOWHERE at a glacial pace.

There are three people to blame for this cinematic disaster: the screenwriter who got the credit for this garbled mess of a movie, the director, who was apparently powerless to get script changes, or so totally clueless that he could not see the powerful beginning of a precognition-based plot simply disappearing halfway through it all, and me for wasting my money on this DVD rental.

Additionally, the various and sundry persons who got "credits" for being this film's "producers," should be ashamed of wasting however much money this effort cost. Seldom in the history of modern film production have so many good and talented actors and actresses been paid to do a movie that turned out so very badly.

Regina Hall was good and the film earned a 2 because of that, and because Marisa Tomei made an obvious effort to interact with Hall in several critical scenes, keeping her 'angst' low-key while Hall's character got a chance to shine.

If a meteorite or a comet comes by and burns every copy of "Danika" known, into dust, including the master and the daily rushes ... nobody will complain much, not now and surely not in a hundred years from now. It's that bad. Honest.

I saw trailer for this movie and looked really great.

The plot: When devoted wife and mother, Danika Merrick, begins experiencing a series of terrifying delusions, she wonders whether she is actually having visions of future events or she is slowly slipping into.

It started of really well as the movie went, all things she knew was going to happen and she dose nothing to stop and this movie also some of kinda of twist,

which I do not understand but I didn't really care if I understood or not, as was really disappointing in this movie

I going to give this movie 4 out of 10 worth watching a least once

OK, so I watched this movie once and did not really understand it (I am always great at understanding weird plot lines and symbolism in movies) The second time I watched it, which was tonight, I finally got it! Yes, obviously the entire movie is a fantasy in Danika's mind. She is probably schizophrenic or has multiple personality disorder or maybe she just went crazy and we don't know what is wrong with her, that is why she is manifesting another reality. She has created a whole reality for herself that is obviously not real. At first I was a bit confused as to whether she gets in the crash while her children are younger or older, like in the present, I thought maybe that was another twist they wanted to throw at you. But yea, it is definitely while they are young, after she finds her husband cheating, therefore the whole reality of her and her semi-normal, semi-happy family is pure delusion. It is simply how her mind copes with her illness and the obvious post traumatic stress from killing her children in the crash. This one really threw me at first, but once you understand it, I think it is pretty clever and original. You really feel for her when you see Danika in the last scene sitting on the bench watching the world go by and all the while playing this drama in her head. It makes you think how many people out there probably experience this same exact thing every day. All in all, a pretty decent movie, but definitely not recommended for those who want it simple and laid out. This takes some concentration and after thought. Enjoy :)

Danika is a study in the phases of death. Danika could see the dead. In the real world she disintegrated into madness after her husband's affair. She killed him and then killed the kids, intending to also kill herself. However, she survived physically.

Mentally and spiritually, she too was dead. I found it amazing how the directors aged the children and had the family actually go through situations as if they were alive. Totally amazing. That is the part that grips you. She joined her family in death mentally and spiritually but her body was still in the real world. Parallel Universe. Cool. The film reminds me of Silent Hill. Go figure.

WARNING! This comment may give away what happens in the film!! I might be a little confused right now. I didn't get this movie i guess. What was Danika's problem? Did she not have that family at all or did she simple kill them all to protect them from everything? Is the shrink the nanny or is it a new affair? Is she the one who killed their neighbors dog and the schoolteacher of just a freak of nature? Is Danika a victim of her own imagination or is she really mad? I couldn't move from the DVD the entire movie, i was so sucked into the story and wanted to get it but i realize now that i didn't so now there is a hundred thoughts in my head. But don't get me wrong now! I really liked the movie, it was made good but i hope someone can explain it to me more so i can really get it in my head! I gave it 8/10.

Movie has some atmosphere and some elements like those of "Sixth Sense" but ultimately fails to deliver.. something goes wrong in the last part of the execution and the movie loses all coherence and logic..

You could sum it by saying bunch of weird stuff happens and in the last 10 minutes you find out why that weird stuff supposedly happens (that of a fractured mind they hint at.. however given the way the movie played I don't think of it as a fractured mind.. I thought of it as supernatural) Anyway.. I would suggest if you're bored give it a watch.. it's better than some Hollywood productions but this is not shear movie making excellence..