User reviews

I just ran across this movie last night and decided to give it a look mainly because Danny Glover is in it. Very interesting movie to say the least. Definitely worth the watch if you haven't seen it.

Donovan's Echo (2011) is one of those movies that will have you sitting in the theater after the lights come up so you can talk to everyone else about what they thought of the movie.

The story kept me at the edge of my seat It was original.

After few thousand movies i saw just wonder why this movie has rating 5.5/10 This is really good film . deserve at least 6/10 probably due to its mediocre production budget.

(Danny Glover is a legend)

It was a little fun piecing the story together.

This is a smart movie for smart people who like smart movies.

Donovan's Echo (2011) is Underrated beauty

I would suggest everyone who likes movies to watch it you will not be disappointed.

Maybe even a 7/10.

Danny Glover has been in so many garbage films and series that he has become a bit of an underrated actor. In this film at least he gets to be the focus, and show us some of his ability. Also the child supporting lead is not the usual vile little snot-nosed thing, instead she's quite restrained and engaging.

But overall, this film is so 'un-demanding', when really it should be an edge-of-the seat jobby. For some reason it just fails to scare.

It's not boring, it's just ... more innocuous than it should be. We watched it late at night before work, and it made almost no emotional impression whatsoever.

All of which makes it sound like a bad film!

It's not, it's got a good little story and a couple of nice twists.

You could sum it up by "I didn't mind it."

A Movie About Clairvoyance and One's Ability or Inability to Make Sense of it All and Connect the Dots for Some Kind of Understanding and Closure to Things that have Happened or Might Happen is the Complicated Plot of this Small Film from Canada.

It is Difficult to Process (things that go on in the mind and in dreams or precognition) and making it Intriguing and Mysterious to an Audience is not the Easiest Way to Make a Thriller. But when it is done Well it can Make for a Unique and Unusual Movie that is Welcomed in the Paranormal and Sci-Fi Genre.

The Premise can be Creepy and as the Viewer is Most Likely at Some Point in Their Lives through Dreams of Deja Vu can Latch On to it with an Uneasy Feeling Taken from the Uneasy Feeling that such Real Life Experiences can Bring On.

This isn't a Fully Rendered Film about Danny Glover's Frustrating Predicament and there are Coincidences a Plenty and a bit too many Contrivances to Accept, but the Movie does Manage to Draw You into its World of Wondering What's Up just Enough to Pass as a Low-Key, Well Acted, but Ultimately Boxed In Entertainment and So Restrained by its Budget and Running Time that it Seems Rushed, Confusing, and Shackled.

Overall, it is Definitely Worth a Watch for some Good Performances and an Interesting Story, but Fully Involved Fans of this Type of Thing will Most Likely End Up Wanting More than this can Deliver.

Donovan (Danny Glover) returns to his home after 30-years of roaming (which was never really explained) due to the deaths of his wife and child in a vehicle accident. He was a nuclear physicist and blames himself for paying more attention to his work rather than his family. He was also a member of the Manhattan Project back in the day and later became obsessed with Cold Fusion. Now that he is back he has visions of the future that correspond to the date he lost his family.

Remember the saying or slogan "we are all connected" from other movies: CRASH and CLOUD ATLAS? Apparently the message didn't get through as we have this movie to drill it into us again.

Donovan sees visions of what will happen in the future and Finn (Bruce Greenwood) the local Canadian policeman and Donovan's best friend doesn't believe him; and Finn thinks Donovan is becoming dangerous. Donovan believes there is a reason he came back - at this time - and he sees things and attaches the visions to the date of the death of his wife and child. We decide Donovan is not mental (hey, that would be another story) but he cannot seem to get thru to Finn, Maggie (the 11-year old who has the same name of his daughter who died in that accident), or to Maggie's mother Sarah (Sonja Bennett). We have dialogues in our heads that would help but our dialogues are never used. Bummer.

We try to connect the dots with Donovan. However, the way these dots are presented make it difficult to follow any logic and it is here the script confuses us. Sad to say much of this story is disjointed and we are on the verge of looking for the remote to end this because we find ourselves no longer caring.

I don't believe the connection message got thru this time. In the other movies mentioned above the connections are universal; but here the connections seemed to be relegated to Donovan and the immediate cast only. The drilling was not successful in my opinion. (4/10)

Violence: Yes. Sex: No. Nudity: No. Language: No.

Outstanding performances by Danny Glover and Bruce Greenwood ground this interesting introspective investigation into déjà vu., time, and personal loss.

Well directed by Jim Cliffe, we see Glover's character Donovan slowly emerge from the fog of alcoholism, fighting to solve a mystery surrounding haunting déjà vu experiences. The viewer is drawn through this well constructed story at a very comfortable pace, with a sprinkle of humour that makes this drama extremely entertaining.

Donovan's Echo is multi-layered yet suitable for family viewing. It is bound to stimulate some interesting discussion afterwards.

Special mention must also be made of the very strong performance by Natasha Calis who plays Maggie.

With elements of an art-house film, Donovan's Echo will be remembered as THE sleeper indie success of 2011.

Those who have a keen interest in fate and karma will love the movie Donovan's Echo. Danny Glover stars as a man grieving for his wife and daughter's death. While he wallowed in alcohol for a time, he tries to get his act together with the support of his goof friend, policeman Bruce Greenwood (co-producer of the movie, too!). Then, he starts getting these psychic flashes about the future and the past. What do they mean? Is tragedy about to strike again, and can he stop it?

One tiny detail I found sad and realistic in this movie was the scene when Danny tries to get a job as a science professor. It doesn't matter how brilliant he is, or his lengthy employment history, his long gap of unemployment is all that stands out. The only job he's able to get is stocking shelves at a grocery store. He's repeatedly criticized and publicly humiliated by the store manager, which is so true to life. This brilliant man who cares for others is treated like garbage as he mops the floor of a grocery store; isn't that typical?

But back to the bulk of the movie. The story is strong, and the psychic flashes will keep you guessing all the way to the end. In another true to life element, when Danny shows interest in helping a little girl, her mother thinks he has nefarious intentions. Your heart really goes out to him in this movie. If you like these types of plots, add Premonition and Shuffle to your list.

DLM Warning: If you suffer from vertigo or dizzy spells, like my mom does, this movie might not be your friend. The psychic flashes sometimes have a strobing effect, and it will make you sick. In other words, "Don't Look, Mom!"

This movie definitely has something for everyone; a brilliant story containing lots of very fascinating "what-if" scenarios, built around some unique and complex concepts. The main character's struggle with his personal demons keeps you sympathizing with his desire to right his perceived wrongs from his past.

While the character portrayals by the two veteran actors (Danny Glover and Bruce Greenwood) were as exceptional as you would expect, it is the sharp-witted character of Maggie (Natasha Calis) who instantly captured my heart.

Wonderfully written and beautifully shot, the twists and turns within the movie keep you on the edge of your seat until the end.

I do enjoy Danny Glover, but he was horribly miscast here; he is no nuclear physicist! He's just not believable, and neither are the other actors. Also, the screenplay just wasn't believable. A physicist who worked on the Manhattan Project has a best friend who's a cop? Really?? These people would just not have moved in the same social circles, political correctness be damned. No actors could have salvaged this piece of drivel. The other reviewer, bob-rutzel-1, wrote a very good appraisal of this garbage. All in all, besides the terrible casting and script-writing, it's just a boring movie. Seek your entertainment elsewhere!

It does hold your attention but boy it was slow. I also only watched because of Danny Glover. It could be just me but it just felt a bit unnatural and I didn't care for how it ended. It seemed a lot of build up that kind of fizzled out. It was intriguing and interesting idea, I have just seen it done better. I would rather watch a few M. Night films again tbh. Some might like it though. I might have to watch it again to see if my opinion changes.

Although this movie is a little slow moving toward the beginning, the plot is pretty deep so moving too fast would mean you would miss more of the important bits like the other reviewer did, causing him to use the word "disjointed". This movie is not at all disjointed! It has so many well placed, easily missed "bits/clues" that if you blink you just may miss something...If you don't "get it", you were not paying attention! The pieces connect from the beginning right through to the end. There are some flashback scenes throughout the movie to fill in the blanks which, like I said, if you are not giving this movie your full attention you might lose your place! All in all a good watch...It is the type of movie that makes you think (in a good way)! NOT the dopey mush brain time waster that fills so much of the screens today!

Donovan's Echo attempts to be a heartwarming tale about an old man who returns to his home town 30 years after the death of his wife and child. Donovan, who is portrayed by Danny Glover, is a former Physicist who having premonitions and déjà vu senses he returned to his home town, after 30 years wandering, to protect a young girl. As with many movies of this type the protagonist spends a great deal of time running around intruding on the lives of the very people he is trying to protect, until it becomes obvious to everyone that he's not crazy and there is some merit to his premonitions. However, until we get to that point, Glover comes off a bit creeping chasing around an 11-year-old. Be that as it may, the movie is a nice break and a clever mixture of a mild supernatural theme, and human decency, nice and welcomed change. The performances, screenplay and actors did a nice job of playing regular people facing common struggles of death, alcohol and finances.

In the end, Donovan's Echo is about self-forgiveness and redemption. It is about how the tragedy of our imperfections, fault and deeds can haunt us for life.

Of course, Danny Glover does an amazing job. Kudos to Bruce Greenwood for producing the film and for his understated but essential performance. He often plays the villain but here he is the best friend a man--especially one experimenting with alcohol and deja vu--could have. The location ambiance (Canada, I assume) brings a brooding northern chill to the watcher while at the same time the sensitivity of Terry Frewer's music score wraps the whole film together with its achingly ethereal, warm, beautiful themes.

It's not a big high-concept car-chase adventure--it's an unexpected gem.

For me, Donovan's Echo was an inspirational reminder that the sovereignty of God is unlimited. The universe was not inevitable. It is neither an accident nor some self-existent entity of ethereal proportions exploding upon the empty stage of nebular nothingness. The universe is a work of creation and is therefore wholly subject to the will of the Creator. And unlike any documentary that may have attempted to encapsulate portions of these philosophical mysteries in a few condensed scenes featuring talking heads that move their lips in a rapid succession of lingual fireworks but who fail to say anything spiritually significant, this suspense-filled flick was enlightening and entertaining. By the way, God was never mentioned by name or even indirectly referenced in this movie although you might not know that after reading my review thus far (unless you have already seen Donovan's Echo). The topic that is dealt with has to do with how someone can be called upon to do something of the utmost importance that is beneficial to the long-term welfare of the planet perhaps by those Beings who are unseen and uncredited yet work diligently behind the scenes for the good of the many (and since they exist on a cosmic plane far above planetary mortals, they know more than any of us about everything there is to know). The chosen individual might be completely unaware that he or she has a supremely significant task to be completed during their mortal lifetime. At times when Doubt temporarily wins the tug-of-war with Faith, they might even think they are deluded or even crazy. Others who know them might share that opinion. But what matters in the end is only if the spiritually-guided person chooses to act or not to act (this going way beyond Shakespeare's "to be or not to be" since active participation can only be directly invoked by an act of will) and I choose not to mention anything more pertaining to what happens in this thriller so as to allow the ending to appear when scripted.

The events in the film are slow. But the story is good. It is worth the patience though.