Hear No Evil (2014) Jahnee Wallace, Jill Marie Jones, Richard T. Jones, Jackie Long, Leander Suleiman, Kaia Davis Movie Review

Hear No Evil (2014)   3/53/53/53/53/5


Hear No Evil (2014)

The Messenger

Shelby (Jahnee Wallace) lost her hearing when she came down with meningitis and since then has been attending special lessons taught by family friend Jennifer (Leander Suleiman). But after a game of lacrosse at school a miracle happens as not only does Shelby survive being struck by lightning but her hearing is restored. But the miracle doesn't stop there as it seems she has been blessed with a gift which she says is God talking to her and telling her things about the people she meets she couldn't possibly know from her uncle having an illness to a reporter's wife going to have a troubled labour. But being bestowed with this gift leads to further issues for Shelby as her sister becomes scared of her, her mother who doesn't believe in God can't believe it, her uncle sees her as a way of getting publicity and of course the media swarms on the family home.

I will leave the synopsis for "Hear No Evil" there for one reason, I have watched a few movies where someone suddenly finds themselves with an unusual gift and they all have these familiar elements. As such from being treated like a freak, to friends abandoning her as well as the media swarming on the family home to make it feel at times like the gift is more of a curse than a blessing. I could go on because the first half of "Hear No Evil" basically builds up this familiar set up and what it means is that the appeal of the movie is what the purpose of all this, why has Shelby been bestowed this gift and is it really from God and will she end up in danger because of the messengers she is receiving. And it is this other side with mysteries being revealed which makes this more than you might expect with Shelby ending up in danger due to what she is told about someone.

At the centre of "Hear No Evil" are a collection of strong performances with Jahnee Wallace doing a nice job of not making Shelby the typical teen who whilst wishing she doesn't like the focus of media attention doesn't really hate having her gift because God allows her to see it is a gift to help others. She also does a nice job of underplaying the emotion of her character especially when a further mystery starts to reveal involving a family friend who is in prison for a crime they didn't commit. I won't go in to anymore detail because this is a movie which starts off one thing and becomes another but it leads to strong performances throughout.

What this all boils down to is "Hear No Evil" ended up a bit of a surprise as whilst it starts off exploring some familiar elements of suddenly having a miracle bestowed on someone it develops in to a different sort of movie with some interesting developments when it comes to a mystery.


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