“You took the wrong kid,” will presumably be the pull quote fromKidnap,Halle Berry’s new movie about her character’s race to rescue her abducted son. It’s every parent’s worst nightmare, but for a woman hellbent on taking the matter into her own hands, the kidnapper better beware.
Kidnapmarks Berry’s first leading woman role sinceThe Call, and there’s a bit of an echo from the 2013 film here. Both feature a desperate attempt to rescue someone trapped in their abductor’s car with Berry as the one to save them.USA Todaydebuted theKidnaptrailer, which previews her efforts, including driving in reverse on a highway and going allArnold Schwarzeneggeron the villain.
“That’s my Arnold moment,” Berry told the newspaper of her standout one-liner. “I’m strong with the shovel.” Watch the trailer below:
Kidnapis directed byLuis Prieto, who directed episodes ofZ NationandCode Black, as well as the filmPusher.Lorenzo di Bonaventuraof theTransformersfranchise produced the film, and he says Berry’s freaked-out reactions are very real, something that was reiterated by Berry herself when she described the backwards driving scene: “Driving backward in highway traffic, that was a first for me. That looking-back visual of cars speeding toward you at 80 miles per hour, your heart leaves your body.”
I suppose you gotta have some sort of wow factor because the trailer is otherwise pretty standard stuff. On the other hand, whileLaw & Order: SVUhas desensitized many of us to kidnapping a bit, I do appreciate the mother’s initial reaction. She grabs onto the car as its driving away, she loses her phone when she falls off, and because she frantically continues her pursuit, she doesn’t realize she lost it. She does make her way to the police station, but realizes her son is just one of many missing kids. These are all honest reactions to a terrifying situation.
Kidnapwill be released on December 2.
