Directed by: James Foley
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Reese Witherspoon, William Petersen, Amy Brenneman, Alyssa Milano, Todd Caldecott
It is understandable how teenager Nicole (Witherspoon) would fall for a guy like David (Wahlberg). He's good-looking, ripped, and has a quiet, unassuming way about him. He says he loves Nicole, but her father Steven (Petersen) is wary of him from the start. He seems off. Nicole thinks he's just being an overprotective dad, but soon everyone sees the real David, a violent sociopath who was kicked out of a bunch of foster homes and engages in a life of crime with his friends.
As per movies like this, it takes a while for Nicole to understand David's true nature, but she is no true believer and no pushover. She may forgive him once, but don't cross her twice. David is soon terrorizing Nicole and her family in the name of love, or is it his bruised ego doing the talking? Wahlberg plays the role with smoldering intensity barely concealing his maladroit personality. It doesn't take much to push him to violence, leading to a conclusion in which he and his buddies break into to Nicole's house which is barricaded by state-of-the-art security measures designed by Steven.
Fear takes a story of a bad boy from the wrong side of the tracks romancing a proper girl and tells it with skill. You can understand why Nicole would like David and then why she would be terrified of him. Perhaps this movie is a cautionary tale of why fathers like Steven are nervous when the guy from the other side of the tracks comes calling on your daughter. It's not necessarily original, but it's well-told.
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