There’s a new casting announcement in town courtesy of THR, and this one’s for John Singleton’s kidnap-aftermath thriller “Abduction.” Elisabeth Röhm (“Heroes,” “Law & Order”) will play the biological mother of the main character (played by Taylor Lautner of “Twilight” fame, who is probably swimming in a vault of gold coins with his brethren like Scrooge McDuck), who discovers his picture on a missing person’s website.
Emily Mortimer previously had this role, but looks like she had to bow out or was replaced.
The addition of Röhm to the cast doesn’t affect us one way or the other. It still sounds like a stock thriller no matter how many Alfred Molinas or Sigourney Weavers they cast. We’re not exactly sure how thrilling this idea actually is (it could probably make a pretty decent character study if done properly, but that’s clearly not the aim), though we certainly smell “convoluted plot.” On second thought, maybe that’s the smell of screenwriter Jeffrey Nachmanoff’s second gig, “The Day After Tomorrow.” Yikes.
This is Lautner’s first meaty role outside of “Twilight” since coming of age and although Kristin Stewart has been doing relatively well, heartthrob Robert Pattinson’s last effort “Remember Me” barely made an impression, with the film doing well worldwide but just making above its budget domestically. It was also poorly reviewed (that’s 28% on RT, and we found it particularly despicable), so “Abduction” could very well follow suit, casting a popular actor in a mediocre movie. There are key differences — it’s of the “thriller” genre and done by a relatively apt director so it could bring in some audiences (aside from tweens) and decent reviews — but we’re not holding our breath.
But since there was a bidding war around this film, mostly because it was Lautner’s first breakout role, it’ll be interesting to see how this one plays out.