On Thanksgiving Day, Manhattan shrink Nathan Conrad (Douglas) discovers his young daughter has been kidnapped. The ransom demand is a tad peculiar: The renowned psychiatrist has eight hours to rouse a catatonic woman (Murphy) who knows the location of a stolen diamond.
For Murphy -- also in this fall's ''Riding in Cars With Boys'' and ''Sidewalks of New York'' -- this could be the breakout performance she's hinted at since playing the tomboy-turned-headturner in 1995's ''Clueless''. Fleder was already a fan of the actress; he had tried to cast her in his ill-fated Janis Joplin biopic. ''The camera loves her,'' Douglas says. ''She's got a great comfort level.''
For Douglas (who's also a coproducer), the movie marks a return to a favorite genre. ''I'm attracted to contemporary subjects -- I only have one or two so-called period pictures in my whole résumé,'' he says. ''Psychological thrillers have been an integral part of my career for a long time.'' So has this type of character -- a super-successful Gothamite, whether lawyer (''Fatal Attraction''), stockbroker (''Wall Street''), or investor (''A Perfect Murder'''). ''I like the New York theme. I understand that environment,'' Douglas says. ''I could be that guy.'' Though he's comfortable in this particular pair of posh shoes, Douglas says it's the story that's the priority. ''I've never been in a film where I thought, 'It's a great part, but, eh, I don't like the movie so much,''' he says. ''Some people get nominations for that kind of stuff, but I'd just rather make a good movie.''
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