In the crime drama MISDIRECTION, a couple of burglars/lovers (Olga Kurylenko, Oliver Trevana) use high-tech equipment and a meticulous plan to rob a rich guy’s (Frank Grillo) large modern home while he’s supposed to be at a banquet for the whole evening. This is meant to be their last big score before retiring to a life of leisure. The soon-to-be-victim departs on schedule; they bypass his security, empty a big stash of cash from his safe and continue looking for more valuables.
Uh oh! The dude comes home much earlier than expected! He can tell there’s been a breach and grabs his gun. The rest plays out just about in real time, as the confrontation gets more and more complicated. The thriller focuses more on the characters than the actual crime.
We soon learn that Olga had another agenda in picking this house besides the booty. That leads to an ongoing argument about what to do with Grillo. They aren’t really killers, but he’s seen their faces. There’s a lot of movement in physical, logistic and emotional terms as Olga’s underlying motivation gradually unfolds. That includes doubts about whether her anger is justified, or if she’s just nuts.
The house’s rather Spartan décor and dim lighting leave everyone in shades of gray, providing a noirish backdrop that complements the moral ambiguity and the suspense. Lacy McClory’s script keeps us guessing about what may or should happen to whom. The lot of the trio is further complicated by some unexpected visitors. Although everything after a couple of brief early scenes occurs in Grillo’s house, director Kevin Lewis (Willy’s Wonderland) keeps it from feeling claustrophobic, moving them among several rooms in various combinations, incorporating enough action to keep it from being too talky, and sustaining the intensity with a brisk pace.
This drama’s setup could have also worked well as a farce, with things going wrong and the players variably arguing and coaxing each other – especially with the arrival of the others upsetting the apple cart. That’s the direction an Elmore Leonard or Donald Westlake would have taken it, and probably to great advantage, based on their many successful novels turned into comedic caper flicks. But that’s not a complaint. The thriller option works out pretty well, too, with the trio of leads delivering fine performances.
MISDIRECTION is available on Digital formats from Cineverse on February 10, 2026.
RATING: 2 1/2 out of 4 stars
