Movie Review: Abandon (2002) – Katie Holmes Steps into the Shadows in Stephen Gaghan’s Stylish Thriller

(2002) – Katie Holmes Steps into the Shadows in Stephen Gaghan’s Stylish Thriller 

Tags Abandon review, Katie Holmes movies, Stephen Gaghan, Benjamin Bratt, college thrillers, psychological mystery, Charlie Hunnam, Zooey Deschanel, 2000s suspense films, Dawson’s Creek stars 

 

 Overview

Abandon is a 2002 psychological thriller written and directed by Oscar-winning screenwriter Stephen Gaghan (*Traffic*). Featuring Katie Holmes in a leading role, the film centers on a high-achieving college senior haunted by the sudden disappearance—and possible return—of her ex-boyfriend. Gaghan delivers a sleek, De Palma-inspired mystery that uses Holmes’ TV persona to surprising effect.

Plot Summary

Katie Holmes plays Catherine “Caty” Burke, a top student at an elite university with a promising job in the financial world waiting for her post-graduation. However, Caty is still emotionally haunted by the vanishing of her ex-boyfriend Embry (Charlie Hunnam), a wealthy and enigmatic art student who disappeared two years earlier. When a dogged, recently sober detective named Wade Handler (Benjamin Bratt) reopens the case—under pressure from Embry’s trustees to declare him legally dead—Caty is forced to relive their toxic relationship and confront growing paranoia. Is Embry really gone, or has he returned to torment her?

What Works

• Katie Holmes: Holmes gives one of her most compelling performances here, navigating Caty’s breakdown with nuance—even if audiences struggle to separate her from her Dawson’s Creek alter ego.
• Charlie Hunnam: As Embry, Hunnam oozes manipulative charm, perfectly capturing the allure of the toxic college artist archetype.
• Direction: Gaghan, in his directorial debut, creates a suspenseful atmosphere reminiscent of Brian De Palma’s thrillers—full of twists, voyeuristic tension, and stylistic flourishes.
• Gender Flip: Refreshingly, Benjamin Bratt’s detective plays the role typically assigned to female characters—serving more as a narrative function than a fully fleshed-out lead.

What Doesn’t Work

• The film leans a bit too heavily on flashbacks, which occasionally slow the pacing and dilute the mystery’s forward momentum.
• Holmes and Bratt lack romantic chemistry, which makes some scenes between them feel forced.
• Some viewers may find the final twist predictable or underwhelming compared to the film’s stronger first half.

Final Thoughts

Abandon is an underrated, stylish college thriller with a strong central performance by Katie Holmes and an atmospheric touch by Stephen Gaghan. While it doesn’t reach the heights of its influences like *Body Heat* or *Dressed to Kill*, it’s a solid entry into early 2000s psychological suspense and a promising directorial debut. If you can separate Holmes from her TV past, you’ll find this to be a fun, twisty ride.

Rating

⭐ Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

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Was Katie Holmes convincing in a darker, post-Dawson’s Creek role? Share your take in the comments.

Explore more reviews of psychological thrillers from the early 2000s on our blog.

Movie Review Dressed to Kill

Dressed to Kill (1980) 

Directed by Brian De Palma 

Written by Brian De Palma 

Starring Angie Dickinson, Michael Caine, Nancy Allen, Keith Gordon

Release Date July 25th, 1980 

Published July 23rd, 2024 

Right off the bat, we have to talk about transphobia. Spoiler alert for this more than 40 year old movie. See it for yourself and come back if you don’t want spoilers. I do think the movie is worth seeing even as it is fairly viewed as problematic by many in the LGBTQ community. I am not a trans person and I cannot speak to how trans people feel about Dressed to Killoutside of a few essays I’ve read about this specific topic. I am writing from the perspective of a trans ally. I have trans people in my family and thus I am sensitive to how our popular culture portrays transness. But I will not try to speak on behalf of any trans people, even those I know and love. 

Dressed to Kill features a killer, played by Michael Caine, who claims to be a woman trapped in a man’s body. The conceit, according to the screenplay by director Brian De Palma, is that this woman trapped in a man’s body is like a second personality who becomes defensive when the male presenting part of them presents a masculine attraction to a woman, played by Angie Dickinson. This defensiveness is expressed by the female personality emerging, presenting as female, stalking Dickinson’s Kate character, and brutally murdering her.

Find my full length review at Geeks.Media, linked here. 

Movie Review Dressed to Kill

Dressed to Kill (1980) 

Directed by Brian De Palma 

Written by Brian De Palma 

Starring Michael Caine, Angie Dickinson, Nancy Allen, Dennis Farina

Release Date July 25th, 1980

Published August 14th, 2002 

There is something about a great twist ending that can make a seemingly average film great. Take the Sixth Sense, it's doubtful that film would exist without it's brilliant twist. Or Hitchcock's classic, Psycho, likely the greatest twist of all. Brian DePalma's Dressed To Kill isn't quite on par with Sixth Sense or Psycho, but it does have a fantastic twist ending that is frightening and a little campy but exciting. That is, if someone hasn't already ruined it for you.

In Dressed To Kill, Angie Dickinson is a bored housewife, sexually unsatisfied and desperate for a change. She has a husband she likes but doesn't love and a son (Keith Gordon from Back To School) who she worries is becoming a shut in. So she takes her problems to a well-respected psychiatrist, Dr. Robert Elliot (Michael Caine). He tries to help her but after she comes on to him, he ends the session, leaving her unsatisfied and still searching for adventure. This leads her to a museum and a chance encounter with a complete stranger.

From there the film takes a left turn into creepiness as Dickinson's housewife is murdered ala Janet Leigh in Psycho. A high-class hooker played by Nancy Allen witnesses the murder. Because Allen was the only witness, she is also the only suspect, according to Detective Marino (NYPD Blue's Dennis Franz). Now a target of the killer, Allen teams up with Gordon to find the killer before she finds them. Meanwhile Dr Elliot is getting strange phone calls from an ex-patient who is taking credit for the murder and threatening to kill again. In an odd choice, Elliot does not inform the police of the calls.

The whole film is an homage to Psycho, with the story, the plot devices and the camerawork. The killer is always shot in profile with quick cuts, she's there and gone very quickly giving the audience a glimpse of things unseen by the character. 

Dressed To Kill is a good movie, very weird though. The opening shower scene is something out of soft-core porn. Then there is the ten-minute museum sequence, which is done with no dialogue or score, just ambient noise and visuals and one amazing tracking shot that takes us on a tour of the entire museum.

Brian De Palma has often been criticized for his style over substance approach where his visual mastery overwhelms his story. Dressed To Kill is no exception. However, Dressed To Kill is a film where the visuals are far more important than the plot. They in fact ARE the plot. The ending hinges on two sensational visual sequences, one a dream and the other the shocking twist.

Sadly, someone ruined the ending for me so some of the shock was taken out of it. But De Palma's visuals more than make up for it. If you don't know how it ends then you will love it. If you already know the twist you will at least be dazzled by the visual flair.