george sluizer original version of the vanish aka the man who want to know offer one of european cinema most quietly disturb sociopath and one of the most memorable finale of all time ( shamelessly steal by tarantino for kill bill volume two ) and but it have plenty more to offer than that . play around with chronology and invert the usual clichés of standard lady vanishes plot and it also offer superb characterisation and strong and underplayed but convincing performance . unfortunately and i can only assume that when it come to the remake and sluizer be so determined that no one else be go to get the chance to ruin his film when he be perfectly capable of do it himself and but few people could have anticipate how comprehensively he trash his own work . his career never recover from this disastrous misstep . chief culprit be an astonishing performance by jeff bridge that have be over think through in every detail to a truly disastrous level . a friend who produce one of his early movie note that bridge be a great instinctive actor as long a you stop him think about what he be do and and this film be the proof of the pudding . every movement be overly mechanical in it precision and make him look like a rusty clockwork toy and while his voice be a bizarre mixture of tootsie and latka gravas from taxi and a dalek who have all be take elocution lesson from dok tah e ville . no banality of evil here and just a looney walk around with an invisible sign over his head say please . let . me . kill . you . thank you . for your . consideration . but the blame really need to be share out here . none of the performance be good represent often and they do not even look good keifer sutherland look more like a baby hamster than a distraught man at his wit end in the hurried scene at the gas station and nancy travis flounder badly and sandra bullock make no impression at all a the object of his obsession . not that theyre give any help by either director or writer todd graff . the script be particularly weak . the chronology have be alter to put the focus firmly on bridge at the expense of the couple at the opening of the film . worse be the rush the film be in and drain the life and character from each scene in it race to get to the next . rather than the high or low mood shift in the couple relationship or the apparently casual but careful establishing of the feel of the location and we just get a couple of argument that give you the impression that he probably well off without her . a for the new and improve happy end standard woman chase by nutter in the wood jeopardy stuff complete with lame let end on a joke like a tv cop show moment best not go there which be advice that hold for this entire trainwreck of a movie . even a shockingly bland and uninspired jerry goldsmith score can not do anything for this one .