Product Details

• Actors: Stephen Baldwin, Tyne Daly, Elizabeth Barondes, Brian Lee Bouck, Jenniffer Buckalew
• Directors: John Flynn
• Writers: David Golden, James Reid
• Producers: Brad Krevoy, David Bixler, Jeffrey D. Ivers, Kevin M. Kallberg, Oliver G. Hess
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Letterboxed, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround), English (Dolby Digital 5.1)
• Subtitles: English, Spanish, Portuguese, Georgian, Chinese, Thai
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Studio: Sony Pictures
• DVD Release Date: February 1, 2000
• Run Time: 95 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00003GPFX
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #117,013 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Absence of the Good" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Stephen Baldwin plays a detective riding the edge of burnout. His 6-year-old son was accidentally killed a few months ago, and the young Salt Lake City homicide cop is on the verge of becoming a basket case. A string of murders occur on his watch, all with the same m.o., and the pattern begins to look like that of a serial killer. As the detectives track down clues, a web of family neglect, abuse, and revenge begins to reveal itself. Director John Flynn also helmed two great '70s crime movies: the explosive Rolling Thunder (scripted by Paul Schrader) and the sorely underrated The Outfit. Flynn's directorial hand in Absence of the Good shows similarities to the other films; they all deal with emotionally damaged protagonists, and Flynn uses the deadpan tone of their performances to build tension. Like William Devane's character in Rolling Thunder, Baldwin's Caleb Barnes is much more than a grieving, emotionally numb wreck; he's a time bomb waiting for a chance to go off. The script has a painful, personal honesty in the scenes in which Barnes and his wife try to cope with the pain of losing their only child, and what it has done to them as a couple. Flynn also has an eye for taking rural scenarios and making them into white-trash American Gothics, infused with dread and blighted with derelict cars, trash heaps, and dilapidated trailers. Rising far above its made-for-cable origins, Absence of the Good is a first-rate police procedural/crime drama with well-fleshed-out characters and enough unpredictable twists and turns to keep you guessing.--Jerry Renshaw

Product Description

After his son is shot to death at school detective caleb barnes loses touch with his soul. When a series of seemingly unrelated murders plagues salt lake city the detective hides his grief in search for the killer. Hampered by a lack of clues and his commanders unrelenting pressure. Various subtitles. Studio: Sony Pictures Home Ent Release Date: 05/27/2008 Starring: Stephen Baldwin Shawn Huff Run time: 99 minutes Rating: R Director: John Flynn

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Spectacular, February 13, 2000

By	Bill Powers (NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Absence of the Good [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Absence of the Good is definitely a thriller. If you like movies that keep you on the edge of your seat. While keeping you in suspense then you will love this one! The plot was wonderfully done, and you will never guess who the killer is and will leave you saying WOW!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Hammers: Not just for nails, December 18, 2003

By	K-Man - See all my reviews

Absence of the Good is an above average movie in the serial killer genre that has a fairly clever script, good acting, and a strong lead (Stephen Baldwin).

The story centers around Detective Caleb Barnes (Stephen Baldwin) and his struggle to find a serial killer while trying to deal with the untimely death of his son. As the body count begins to climb Barnes finds himself trying to help his wife heal while remaining focused on the case. What follows is a well executed police drama with plenty of action and suspense throughout.

I wasn't sure if this movie was going to be any good when I rented it. I decided to take a chance and was pleasantly surprised. It kept me guessing and had a twist ending that a couch detective like myself had fun solving. I recommend this film.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars TENSE AND INVOLVING, March 26, 2004

By	Michael Butts (Martinsburg, WV USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Stephen Baldwin redeems himself for his lackluster performance in MR. MURDER in this tense, and involving crime thriller. Baldwin plays a cop who has recently lost his son in a tragic accident; his wife (Shawn Huff) is having extreme difficulty in dealing with her guilt and loss. Baldwin plays it stoic, but he too is harboring the pain. When returning to his work, he and his partner (Rob Knepper) are called in on a case involving the hammering deaths of several people, all seemingly not connected. Baldwin, however, believes the culprit is a grown up who wants to revisit his childhood but going to all the places he or she lived. It's a tense, complex plot and well acted. Tyne Daly does her usual good turn as a psychiatrist, and the identity of the culprit is surprising.
Well done and very engrossing.