- published: 12 Oct 2014
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Shattered is a 1991 Hitchcockian neo-noir/psychological thriller starring Tom Berenger, Greta Scacchi, Bob Hoskins, Joanne Whalley and Corbin Bernsen. It was directed and written for the screen by Wolfgang Petersen, based on the novel by Richard Neely.
While driving at night along the San Francisco coast, Architect/developer Dan Merrick (Tom Berenger) and his wife Judith (Greta Scacchi) are involved in a violent car wreck. Judith is thrown clear, but Dan sustains major facial injuries and significant brain trauma, resulting in total amnesia. After extensive plastic surgery, Dan returns home in the care of his wife Judith.
Frustrated by his lack of memory, Dan relies on those close to him to help him restore his past, including his business partner Jeb Scott (Corbin Bernsen) and Jeb's wife Jenny (Joanne Whalley Kilmer), who appears to know more than she lets on. While recovering, Dan has frequent flashbacks of imagery he believes to be events that led up to his fateful car crash.
As days go by, Dan finds discrepancies in the stories he hears about his "former self." At one point, he stumbles upon photographs showing Judith sleeping with another man. Dan asks Jeb if his marriage was in trouble before the crash, and Jeb confirms as much. At his office, Dan finds an expensive bill he paid to a pet store, and follows up by visiting its proprietor, Gus Klein (Bob Hoskins). Gus informs him that the payment was actually for services he provided as a private investigator, which he moonlights as. Gus tells Dan he hired him to tail his wife Judith, and that his investigation had revealed she was indeed cheating on him with a man named Jack Stanton (Scott Getlin).