'White Noise' short on action

By Jack Garner
Gannett News Service

Michael Keaton does his best with a dull, grinding story in "White Noise." Keaton plays a widower who comes to believe his wife is trying to send him a warning through the "white noise" of TV broadcasts about a killer who is preying on women. Chris Helcermanas-Benge 'White Noise' Rated PG-13, language, violence 110 minutes

EVP fuels the plot of the new Michael Keaton thriller, "White Noise."

Keaton plays a widower who is convinced he's seeing and hearing his late wife within the snow on his TV set. (Actually, EVP believers stress you can only see or hear the deceased in the recordings of the snow — the dead don't appear "live." You have to record them on audio and videotape to hear or see them. Go figure.)

Anyway, as "White Noise" begins, architect Jonathan Rivers (Keaton) has just received the happy news that his wife, Anna (Chandra West), is pregnant. But then Anna fails to return after an errand, and is soon discovered drowned in nearby waters. A rumpled oddball, Raymond Price (Ian McNeice) visits the grieving Rivers and brings outlandish news that Anna has been trying to contact her husband with EVP. (Price is an EVP believer who now facilitates the process for others.)

Rivers is skeptical for about a minute, which isn't nearly enough time to be believable. He almost instantly dives into the process of trying to receive EVP signals. This is the point where a little disbelief would have helped sell the movie.

A mostly immobile hero also weighs down "White Noise." Rivers spends much of his time like a psychic couch potato, watching snow on video playbacks of his TV. Occasionally he gets excited because he thinks he sees Anna or hears her voice. The tiny fragments aren't enough to convince this viewer, but they seem to hold much meaning for Rivers.

And that's when he discovers his wife isn't just saying "Hi. How ya doin'?" She's actually conveying vague warnings about a killer who's preying on women in the area — and is currently holding another young woman hostage.

Finally, with about 10 minutes to go in the film, Rivers gets off his chair and swings into action, even if it's short-lived and implausible. Keaton does all he can with this material, successfully emoting the job of being in love, the grief at death and the hope for communication from the beyond.

But "White Noise" never gives skeptics a chance to enjoy the film. I also suspect even believers will be bored, because first-time feature director Geoffrey Sax lets the film languish in static (both the electronic and human inactivity variations.)

A more skilled paranormal filmmaker, like M. Night Shyamalan ("The Sixth Sense"), might have more intelligently served the project. In the end you may find yourself thinking about a more practical theory of white noise: It helps you sleep.