It just goes to show what innovative filmmakers can do with a few well-chosen locations, an old country house, three good actors and a clever script."Restraint" works with simple ingredients, a guy and girl on the run from the law end up in an isolated house in the country. They take prisoner the strange occupant of the house and hold him to ransom. But all is not as it seems and as the story unfolds, we find ourselves watching a film that Hitchcock or Polanski may not have disowned.Teresa Palmer and Travis Fimmel play the two fugitives, Dale and Ron. Impulsive Ron is the type of guy who always brings trouble to himself and those around him. His girlfriend Dale has experienced the rougher side of life, but when they take prisoner the wealthy, but disturbed Andrew, played by Stephen Moyer, she responds to a chance at a classier, more sophisticated way of life. In order to get their hands on a large sum of money, Ron allows Andrew to coach Dale to play a role. As Andrew becomes Henry Higgins to Dale's Eliza Doolittle, Ron's jealousy rises to a dangerous level. It's another brilliant touch in a story that constantly shifts things around.Each of the three stars brings something to the party, but by the end, Teresa Palmer burns up the screen. Aussie thrillers rarely hold back on the nudity and sex scenes and "Restraint" is no exception; Teresa Palmer's understated approach gives impact to a number of hot scenes with both men. Almost a decade later, her disarming style gives power to her performance in another psychological thriller with a twist, "Berlin Syndrome". Despite restraint in the budget, "Restraint" is a polished production. David Denneen started out directing commercials and that ability to quickly capture mood and action shows in "Restraint". Great photography and a good score add to its quality. "Restraint" is a winner all the way and the ambiguous ending doesn't defuse what has gone before.

Restraint is just another example of the amazing actors and film makers in Australia. There are a lot of "geeze I did NOT expect that to happen" moments right from the beginning and every character is finely cast so you are completely invested in the story. It is about a young couple on the run from the law for some serious crimes when they take a rich man who is a shut in as hostage. Between these 3 there is brilliant character development, these actors are fantastic, and for a story that is used a lot, they make it fresh and build tension between each other well. Of course there is a nice little twist at the end which does not disappoint. Fab movie if you want a quiet evening watching a good thriller drama.

...and certainly not as well as the femme fatale's clothing fits her, but this is still a decent little thriller that delivers handsomely on a relatively small budget, despite an Act Three resolution that doesn't quite live up to the build. David Denneen guides an excellent cast through his feature-length debut with remarkable assurance and style; where has this guy been the past decade? Said cast does him and the unfortunately flawed script proud: newcomer, Travis "The Big Valley" Fimmel, authoritatively conjurers a young Brad Pitt, Teresa "I Am Number Four" Palmer can't help but make one think of a young Nicole Kidman, and Steven "True Blood" Moyer proves he can ably sink his teeth into a role without fangs. Denneen couldn't have asked for better.The plot is drawn from the same well as films like "Kalifornia," "Natural Born Killers," and progenitors like "Badlands." Crazed young couple on the lam, home invasion, cat and mouse monkey business, and the inevitable comeuppance of the perps, with minor variations to keep it interesting. It's pretty tightly written until the unlikely third act, as if scripter Dave "Garage Days" Warner ran out of juice and fell back on stock Hollywood resolution. Still, "Restraint" earns enough welcome to mostly make up for the fizzled finale. I stumbled across it at the library, and familiarity with two of the three leads was enough to pique my interest. I was not displeased.

Well I must confess the only reason I picked this movie out was to see Stephen Moyer presented himself out of True Blood. Never heard of the movie before that. Oh, and the cover girl looked good...All in all, it's not that bad of a watch. Considering the number of characters in the entire movie it was certainly well made and keeps you engrossed till the end. Of course during the entire movie I was thinking I didn't realize Kristen Stewart was that hot until I realized later that it wasn't her, it was Teresa Palmer and she's smokin' if you get my drift. If not for Moyer and Fimmel, see this movie for Palmer, she certainly deserves more than a look! I'd give a 10/10 for her, but considering the meek storyline, I'll drop it by 4 notches.