User reviews

If having a strong screen presence means that it's difficult for viewers to keep their eyes off you, then Gina Gershon certainly has "it" (the fact that she looks about 10 years younger than her actual age doesn't hurt, either). So it's a shame that her talent is wasted in completely average thriller fare such as this. It's also nice to see Michael Biehn again, but he has the standard cop-romantically-involved-with-the-main-suspect role (actually, I found his partner more enjoyable). Sean Patrick Flanery has the "obsessive psycho" role - a role we've seen about a million times before - and he doesn't bring anything new or creative to it. His uninspired performance is one of the reasons this film is nothing-special; the "TV-movie-of-the-week"-style direction is another. The plot holds your interest until the end, but the "moment of revelation" comes through the oldest trick in the book. I was disappointed. (**)

Borderline plays around with the grey areas of the human mind that control impulse, empathy and rational thinking, showing (albeit in slightly stunted and blunt B movie form) us a recently released psychiatric patient with Borderline Personality Disorder who becomes obsessed with bis former doctor. Gina Gershon is Lila Coletti, a prison psychiatrist who is very good at her job. Maybe too good. When she sanctions the release of Ed Baikman (Sean Patrick Flanery), she has no idea the heap of trouble she's headed for. Ed is anything but rehabilitated, just a charmer who's great at disguising his instability. Pretty soon people in Lila's life start to get mysteriously injured, and even killed. She is protected by her boyfriend, Detective Macy Kobacek (a slick Michael Biehn), but it may not be enough to put a stop to Ed's crafty, dangerous game. Gershon has always been a strong force, despite being saddled with a lot of... I don't want to use the M word, but let's say, promiscuous roles. She holds her own as a lead female protagonist in a real world context even better, and I wish she'd get more roles like this. Flanery is creepy without resorting to gimmicky grimacing or run of the mill psycho stuff. Biehn is Biehn, he's just a legend in any role. Most of the acting besides those three is pretty patchy, but one can only hope for so much with this kind of low budget fare. Worth it for fans of these actors (they're all favesies of mine), and a not too shabby little thriller.

This picture was filmed in Capetown, South Africa with expert talent and a script far superior to a lot of recent Hollywood thriller crap (like Bullock's MURDER BY NUMBERS, Spacey's DAVID GALE and any of those Ashley Judd potboilers she made with Morgan Freeman, to name a few). This is a nicely contrived murder mystery featuring a strong female lead and some intelligent supporting players; even the obligatory child factor was nicely handled in this particular case. It's an adult murder noir with some smart character interplay. Choice of it's kind.

"Borderline" is just that. Borderline. Representing little more than a pay check for a slew of actors and production people, "Borderline" is a B-flick from the get go. Gershon is at the center as a prison psychiatrist whose ex-husband is murdered after securing custody of the divorced couple's two daughters. Gershon, who just happens to be dating an investigator on the case, is suspect and spends the run time trying to convince everyone, including the audience, of her innocence. With a threadbare plot, an uneven portrayal by Gershon, and ordinariness in all aspects of the film, there's little reason to spend time with "Borderline" unless you happen to surf it on cable and are in the mood for a convoluted mystery flick. (C-)

The psychiatrist Dr. Lila Colleti (Gina Gershon) is a woman with a trauma in her childhood that is divorcing her husband. She works in a penitentiary with disturbed prisoners that like her. Her ex-husband Paul Colleti (Nick Boraine) and she are disputing the custody of their two daughters in court, and Paul wins the dispute. Paul brings the daughters to his house and Lila becomes depressive and upset. She goes to a bar, where she meets the former prisoner and patient Ciro Ruiz (Jon Huertas), and uses drugs with alcohol, having a blackout. In the night, Paul and her girlfriend are murdered, and Lila becomes the prime suspect. Det. Macy Kobacek (Michael Biehn), who is her boyfriend, is in charge of the investigation with his partner Det. Frank Hagen (Eddie Driscoll), and Lila accuses her manipulative patient Ed Baikman (Sean Patrick Flanery) to her boyfriend. However, all the evidences are against Lila and Macy is not sure of who is the killer.

"Borderline" is an ambiguous low budget thriller with a story of manipulation that has flaws in the screenplay, but holds the attention of the viewer until the last scene. Unfortunately the conclusion is not clear and the director Evelyn Maude Purcell fails. It seems that her intention might be to keep the doubt of who is manipulating who, Ed Baikman or Dr. Lila Colleti. After watching for the second time, one possible interpretation is that Lila is so manipulative that has an affair with Macy to have someone to help her in the police department and manipulates Ed Baikman to make him the scapegoat of the murder. In the end, she stays alone with her daughters that was her prime objective. Doesn't it make sense? Last but not the least, the forty years old Gina Gershon is still a very sexy woman and is another attraction in this above-average film. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Distúrbio Mortal" ('Mortal Disturbance")

Note: On 16 February 2016 I saw this movie again.

During her divorce, Dr. Lila Coletti (Gina Gershon), a criminal psychiatrist, loses custody of her two daughters, partially because her job working with the criminally insane is dangerous.

This has everything necessary to be a good thriller. But yet, it just comes off as boring. Gershon's mouth is horribly distracting and Sean Patrick Flannery is a decent actor but such a horrible human being that it is hard to focus on his performance.

Most disturbing, this film takes its name from a classic film noir. Yet, it has no connection to it, makes no nod to it, and is a vastly inferior film.

Gina Gershon stars in Borderline where she plays a psychiatrist who works with the criminally insane, making decisions on parole issues as to whether these folks can function in society. She's got just the background for it having some childhood issues herself. For that reason alone I can't see how she would get a license in the profession.

Still that is the premise and add to it she's going through a bitter custodial battle for her two daughters which she loses. But as was said in the classic Casino, she got an out of court settlement when her ex-husband and his girlfriend wind up murdered.

Who did it, any number of her patients with whom she's so popular could have. They all like her because she has a big say on when they might get sprung. Looking the best for it is Sean Patrick Flannery who has some transference issues as he has fallen for his therapist big time.

The cops are losing their professionalism too. The lead detective on the case Michael Biehn has fallen for Gershon and they're kanoodling hot and heavy. But for that he might have arrested her.

Borderline is a rather far-fetched tale that really never gets off the ground. It's with some rather far-fetched material for a plot that our players do their best with.

Here's a little nugget made for cable that revolves around a psychiatrist played by Gina Gershon. Her ex husband is murdered the day he's granted custody of the children. The lead investigator on the case played by Michael Biehn is her boyfriend. One of the suspects is a former patient played by Sean Patrick Flanery. The movie leaves enough unsaid to conclude what you will & develops gradually in a matter fitting to aid the suspense. The acting is top notch with great directing as well.

Although this was a good movie with a decent storyline, they made a large flaw, I could not overlook.

Her boyfriend which is part of the Police Department, and working on the case, is trying to keep her from being arrested and accused of this crime. Half way through the movie, he takes her to the scene of the crime, because the evidence keeps mounting against her. While there he tells her how they believe things happened. According to him, they believe that her ex was tied and bleeding to death, while he laid there and witnessed his soon to be new wife's rape and murder. Read that last sentence carefully. Does the word RAPE stand out at all. This is a woman who RAPED and left semen behind, after she over came her ex, with the other woman present. Ties and left him bleeding to death, and then went to work raping the other woman, and then killing her.

Something just a tad bid wrong with this whole picture, don't ya think?

A little bit of a let down. Personal opinion, this was a movie with much more potential that was never allowed to reach that. Sean Patrick Flanery has good moments in the movie, but as a whole his performance doesn't come close to some of his other movies like Powder and Boondock Saints. This is the first movie I saw of Gina Gershon, I definitely want to see more movies, not because she was so good in this one, but because it seems as if she is capable of so much more. Many components could have been put together so much better. The music for instance doesn't always seem to suit the situation, A+ for effort, but it just wasn't there yet. There were all the ingredients for a good thriller, just not enough of everything, so instead of a cake, you got a cupcake. Unfortunately, masterpiece is not the first word that jumps to mind. It's a good storyline, not predictable. It is an interesting storyline, Some good actors, great potential, but something didn't quite work. not a movie to rent out, but if you can't sleep and it happens to be on the television, go ahead.

Borderline is definitely a better thriller , worth the watch.

Dr. Coletti (Gina Gershon) is a prison psychiatrist working with mentally unwell inmates. Her ex-husband wins custody of their children and on the same day him and his new girlfriend show up dead. The doc says it's one of her released patients (Sean Thomas Flaney) obsessed with her. See where this is going yet? Her boyfriend (Michael Biehn) just happens to be one of the detectives investigating the case too. Try to suspend your disbelief.

Beyond the likable faces, 'Borderline' is a below average thriller. Some people think the ending is left up to interpretation. I think it's pretty clear cut. This might have been sufficient on late night TV twenty years ago, but that's where it should stay. The cast will get you in the door here only to be disappointed by a fairly poor flick.

I'll let you know now, I've seen better thrillers. But "Borderline" is definitely worth the watch. I am a huge fan of the hot Sean Patrick Flannery(one of the world's most under rated actors), the beautiful Gina Gershan(again, very under rated), and the handsome Michael Biehn(he's a good actor; no comment). So, when I saw the cover to this movie, I was immediately excited to see such fine actors together. The story is about a woman who is fighting for custody of her two daughters and looses them to her ex-husband due to her jail-psychiatrist job that every in-mate admires her for. When her ex-husband and his fiancée' are murdered the night that she looses her children to him, things look suspicious obviously. She wanted her kids, she was still the one to take it all in her ex's will, and that she wanted him out of her and her kid's lives. Sean Patrick's role comes in as a former in-mate who is completely obsessed with Gina's character. He wants to be with her and her family, but Gina insists that he is the murderer of her ex and his fiancée'. Will Gina be proved innocent with the help of her supposed-to-be-not-because-they-work-together boyfriend, Michael Biehn, or will Sean slip up and confess his dark secrets? You'll just have to find out.

8/10

I like this movie a lot. It doesn't have the most original plot in the world but what it does with it is dynamite. This reminds me a lot of those old movies they call "filmes noir" nowadays, the ones with the weary cynical cop, played by someone like Mark Stevens or William Lundigan or Dana Andrews who gets mixed up with the dangerous dame who may or may not be a killer. And there's the likable but menacing loony (William Bendix, Elisha Cook), is he the guilty one? This is a real whodunit, folks, & it had me on the edge of my seat from start to finish. The three principals are terrific. Gershon is a pure pulp lusty female, right off the cover of an old Signet paperback. Michael Biehn has grizzled nicely since Terminator. Maybe he'll morph into today's Sterling Hayden. And Sean Patrick Flanery is fine as the charming psycho who evokes Michael J. Fox as Hannibal Lechter. It's a great-looking film, never static, with lots of dynamic camera work, great pace and good writing. A very professional and satisfying film. In a way it is what The Man Who Wasn't There should have been.

This movie was surprisingly good. I did not expect to like it. I ended up liking it very much. I would suggest that it is best to watch it NOT reading too much about it. Gina Gershon does a great job....and there are twists and turns here that keep you guessing. I honestly didn't know who to believe right up to the very end of the movie. It had me on the edge of my seat. Gina Gershon's acting was superb, and really surprisingly good. It's a low budget flick, so I judge it from that standpoint and from that standpoint, it was excellent! It's definitely an "escape" movie. LOL. I give it an 8 out of 10, but with a qualifier: that is, that I am judging it against other of these types of movies, not against say, "Psycho"...against other low budgets, this is definitely at the top of the pile.

Borderline is a very convincing thrilling movie. This movie kept me guessing who done it till the end. Gina Gershon is my favorite modern day actress.

Borderline (2002) 100/100

I am a Gina Gershon Fan. Borderline Very good DVD movie.

Love this one a lot.

thumbs up :)

best crime thriller movie 2002

A thriller is supposed to thrill, among other things. But the strongest emotions that "Borderline" manages to build in the viewer are confusion and an odd feeling. The odd feeling mainly comes with where the movie was shot. Although it's made clear that the story is taking place in California, you don't need to watch the closing credits to know that the movie was shot in a foreign country (South Africa, to be exact.) The buildings and scenery don't look quite right, especially since it's all mostly photographed in a manner that gives everything dull and dark colors. The real problems with the movie, however, are what I stated in my summary line. At the end of the movie, there are a number of plot threads that haven't been properly resolved, so it's hard to figure out who did exactly what and why. Even director Evelyn Maude Purcell was apparently bewildered by the twists and turns, because she doesn't manage to build up any tension or suspense. At best, the movie feels strictly routine. There's nothing here to grab an audience's attention, so I say avoid it. It's not the worst movie ever made, but oddly there are a lot of worse movies out there that are more interesting to watch than this movie.