6 strangers. 2 killers. No getting away.

Genre: Action/Romance/Thriller
Role: Cydney Anderson
Director: David Twohy
Additonal Cast: Steve Zahn, Kiele Sanchez, Timothy Olyphant, Marley Shelton, Chris Hemsworth
Production Company: Rogue Pictures
U.S. Release Date: August 7 2009 (theatrical)

• Overview
• Memorable Cydney Quotations
• A Perfect Getaway Movie Trivia
• Critical Reception
• A Perfect Getaway Online

Warning: Milla Fan movie overviews may contain spoilers. If you would like to remain 100% unspoiled as to the outcome of the film, we suggest you skip the overview.

Cydney (Milla Jovovich) and Cliff (Steve Zahn) are newlyweds, who for their honeymoon decide to backpack through the beautiful wilderness of Hawaii. Following some of the island’s most secluded and treacherous trails, the couple crosses paths with two other trekking duos — Nick (Timothy Olyphant) and Gina (Kiele Sanchez), Kale (Chris Hemsworth) and Cleo (Marley Shelton), — when the news arrives that a honeymooning couple has been savagely murdered in the area. Unsure of whether to go on or go back, Cydney and Cliff team up with the other couples, but when it is announced that authorities are searching for a white male and female for the murders, there’s no longer any knowing if the killers aren’t already among them.

Milla Jovovich portrays Cydney Anderson, an adventurous newlywed who is forced to reveal news sides to herself when the news arrives that a murdering couple is on the loose on the secluded Hawaiian trail she’s trekking with her husband Cliff.

More photos at our A Perfect Getaway gallery!

“You should say sweet stuff to me sometimes.”

“Look, I get it… I know that in some bend way, your need for detachment fits my need for attachment, that’s it. It’s fitting fucking and fucking fit… I get it, okay? Let’s stop lying to ourselves, okay?”

“Got it. Rocky? Nothing exists until I get there.”

“Well… I think we handled that really well!”

No trivia available.

Upon its August 2009 release, the reception for A Perfect Getaway was mixed, but generally favorable. Although the film did not fare as well as expected at the box office and was criticized for its excessively violent ending, many critics lauded the film for being a touch smarter and unexpected than the average slasher thriller and for reviving the classic “paradise-gone-wrong” type of film. Out of the six key players, Steve Zahn was particularly commended for his performance; regrettably, Milla Jovovich’s performance went largely unnoticed by the critics.

• Rating > Internet Movie Database: 6.7/10 (2,800 user votes counted)
• Rating > MetaCritic: 63/100 metascore, “Generally favorable reviews” (professional)
• Rating > Rotten Tomatoes: 60% positive reviews, “Fresh” (professional)

Extracts from professional reviews:

“That title might lead you to expect a heist movie. Actually, it’s a flawed but entertaining thriller about a couple enjoying what ought to be a “perfect getaway” honeymoon in Hawaii. Yet there’s a serpent in this paradise – a reported wacko or even pair of wackos with a penchant for murdering honeymoon couples. [...] The picture is written and directed by Hollywood’s action veteran David Twohy, who gave us the sci-fi thriller Pitch Black, and it’s capably put together, though with an overlong and overwrought flashback scene, with sneaky point-of-view “reveals” intended to explain the big twist. Not at all bad, and it’s nice to see Steve Zahn, a smart performer, who makes any film more watchable.” – Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian

“But who are the real killers? It’s kind of like an Agatha Christie thing, a little. Actually, the first hour reminded me alot of Death Proof. Nothing really happens, just alot of dialogue and getting to know the characters. [...] Since Zahn’s character is a screenwriter, there are lots of movie references and clever bits that have him and movie buff Olyphant talking about screenwriting techniques as they parallel what’s really happening. I loved the first hour of this movie. Zahn is great and it contains what I believe to be Jovovich’s best work to date. The set up is so good that it pains me to reveal that the last half hour falls apart. Once things are revealed, it becomes too silly.” – Austin Kennedy, Sin Magazine

“David Twohy’s twist-packed thriller is a largely enjoyable whodunnit that only derails once it transforms into a whytheydunnit. Packed full of superb performances, brooding suspense and tense chase sequences, A Perfect Getaway is a refreshingly old school take on the classic ‘paradise gone bad’ scenario. [...] Once a major bombshell is dropped, Twohy forgets the adage of ‘show, don’t tell’ by unleashing numerous flashback sequences that explain exactly what has been happening. Nothing is left to the imagination, and this narrative spoonfeeding not only interrupts the linear flow of the story but reeks of self-congratulation. Fortunately, this miscalculation doesn’t totally overshadow the sheer pleasure of the preceding guessing game, nor the brutal climax that ensues. Twohy’s camerawork cleverly sneaks into the private space of Cliff and Cydney, with Zahn and Jovovich both turning in extremely natural and convincing performances as the happy couple. They form a superb contrast with the movie-stealing turn by Timothy Olyphant, who echoes Ash from the Evil Dead series with his wild-eyed mania and unpredictability.” – Ben Rawson-Jones, Digital Spy

Personal Thoughts

A Perfect Getaway is one of those movies you have to watch a second or third time to really appreciate. Even if the ending doesn’t quite keep it together, and the film’s plot revelations aren’t as surprising or unexpected as advertised, the film is carried far by very strong performances from the key four — Olyphant, Sanchez, Zahn and Milla — and well-written dialogue, that isn’t necessarily of the smartest kind, but such as keeps you both interested and entertained throughout. Not to mention that the absolutely breathtakingly beautiful environment in which the film was shot is worth a look all on its own.

As Cydney, Milla Jovovich definitely delivers one of her strongest performances to date. Even though most professional critics ended up focusing on the other lead actors in their reviews, I don’t think it’s so much a statement on Milla’s performance than it is on her character, by far the least interesting of the four dialogue- and personality-wise. Milla’s particularly strong in the scenes in which she’s allowed to play cute and excited, where you can definitely see Milla’s own active personality shine through. Definitely worth checking out!

Below are some A Perfect Getaway-related links that may be of interest to you.

• A Perfect Getaway official site
• A Perfect Getaway TFL-approved fanlisting
• A Perfect Getaway TFL-approved Cydney character fanlisting
• A Perfect Getaway at IMDb.com
• A Perfect Getaway at RottenTomatoes.com
• A Perfect Getaway at Wikipedia.org

• David Twohy at IMDb.com
• David Twohy at Wikipedia.org

• Chris Hemsworth at Chris Hemsworth Network
• Marley Shelton at Marley Shelton Online