Evan Richards

SHE WON'T BE SILENCED. Director Anthony Waller (The Piper, An American Werewolf in Paris) combines cat-and-mouse suspense with classic intrigue in Mute Witness, an updated take on the Hitchcockian thriller in which the only witness to a brutal crime can neither speak nor cry out in terror.

1991. An alcoholic country detective is tracking down a killer who skinned a woman alive, while an unhinged man and his deaf-mute brother take hostage a young woman who is alone at a friend's home. On his part, the friend has his own agenda.

Rescued from drowning in the swimming pool of a nouveau riche Beverly Hills couple (Richard Dreyfuss, Bette Midler), a disconsolate bum (Nick Nolte) brings startling and hilarious changes to the entire household -- including the family dog, Matisse.

Beverly Cleary's classic tale portrays the bond between a boy with a toy motorbike and the mouse who rides it, risking his life to save his new pal.