Good movie but grossly overrated

It is not deep, but it is fun to watch. It does have a bit more of an edge to it than other similar films.

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

There are many good reviews here, even the ones that didn't appreciate the film as much as I did. I remember the true-life abduction of Adam Walsh. His tragedy changed his father's life completely and forever empowered the search for missing and murdered children, that Adam's death be not in vain. In "Stolen," the bitter sorrow and self-recrimination of the fathers, whose sons disappeared in a few moments of inattention, was the film's true focus. Unraveling the mystery of the killer's identity, well done in my opinion, was interesting, but secondary. The film's greatest strength was the search for some kind of emotional absolution for the devastated fathers. Minor flaws, which other reviewers have accurately noted, need not deter anyone from watching this truly powerful and intimately human drama.

Police detective Tom Adkins Sr. (Jon Hamm) loses his son Tommy at a country fair. Eight years later, a boy's body is dug up by a construction crew but it's not his missing son. His wife Barbara (Rhona Mitra) is breaking down. The body turns out to be 50 years old and Adkins starts investigating. In flashbacks, Matthew Wakefield (Josh Lucas)'s farm is foreclosed and his wife commits suicide. He and his sons Mark, Luke, and mentally handicap John struggle to find their place in the world.This is filled with some solid actors. The present day story is dull. The investigation is not compelling although the past is better. Josh Lucas delivers an interesting flawed character. His unraveling throughout the movie is intriguing. The old-man makeup is distracting. It would be simpler to use a real elderly man. The eyes always give it away. This movie is a bit of a muddle that works sometimes but doesn't always add up to be good. The twisty multi-suspects do get tiresome. I wouldn't mind a clear story about Matthew struggling to keep his family together.

Little flaws in production design can distract viewers from the story. Here, we have Josh Lucas and his wife losing their home to foreclosure in 1958, yet they own a brand new Rambler. The set-up would have been more persuasive if the family car had been something from the late 40s or early 50s. The boys' hair styles, particular John's, are likewise out of place. Further, most of the male actors are chronically showing about a 4-day growth of beard. Some of those characters might be expected to shave only occasionally, but not so for Thomas Atkins, a police detective. I found the pacing far too slow and the movie was the longest 91-minute flick I've ever seen. The story never grabbed me by the collar as it needed to. Quickie, casual sex while standing up and fully clothed is another silly cliché that detracts from the plausibility of the story. I'm quick to defend movies that have been unfairly maligned by critics, such as "Bonfire of the Vanities," but this DVD box is headed for the donation bin of the local thrift shop.

Yes, I am biased, but he is definitely a sympathetic character in this film weaving a 1940's child killing to a current missing child case (grieving father well-portrayed by Jon Hamm/"Mad Men"). Hamm is also good here as he shows a different and more human side of his acting ability. In "Mad Men" he plays a slight sexist (apropos for that era, though).Lucas has three sons, Mark, Luke and John. The youngest child John is autistic (in the 1940's that was clearly a cardinal sin.). When Lucas' wife commits suicide and they are foreclosed on, he must hit the road to find any employment, and give his sons to in-laws to take care of them. His brother-in-law, Jonas is a nasty piece of work and refuses to take care of "the autistic one" John.Lucas finds construction work with a random group, one ("The Swede", played by Holt McCallany, and one portrayed by James Van Der Beek, nicknamed "diploma").The peripheral/current story of Hamm and his marital woes with Barbara are rather predictable, though we feel for him becoming obsessed with this 50 year old case of the murdered autistic child John.Without detailing the outcome, I will say there are some notable performances by Hamm and Lucas here, and the haunting story of missing and murdered children, and how society treats them.It is also a timely story, children in the U.S. are murdered and missing every day. Highly recommended. If you like this theme you may also like "The Dead Girl" an amazing film about a missing girl and how society treats disaffected people. 10/10.