Jenny Pen is the name of the hand puppet that John Lithgow’s character wears, as he terrorizes the residents in his assisted living community. Geoffry Rush plays a judge who suffers a stroke that sends him to the same facility. Thus begins the conflict between the bully and the partially paralyzed witness to the evil. Rush gives a stolid, serious performance, while Lithgow relishes in his creepy villainy. New Zealand director James Ashcroft effectively created the somewhat unpleasant environment with numerous patients in horrible, sometime helpless conditions. He’s also thrown in some dumb “dream sequences” and, as one of the writers, chosen to ignore reality with so many absurd situations (the caregivers never seem to be around when things go bad, even in groups). Lithgow and Rush are both Executive Producers on this film, which explains another reason they might want to be involved. There was potential to make a thriller, but Ashcroft chose to exploit discomfort without minimal tension to create this dreary drama. 
(2 / 5)
