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, an architect-developer Dan Merrick and his wife Judith are
involved in a violent car wreck. Dan sustains major injuries, resulting in
total amnesia, and he returns home in the care of his wife Judith.
Dan relies on those
close to him to help him restore his past, including his business partner Jeb
Scott and Jeb's wife Jenny. While recovering, Dan has frequent flashbacks. As
the 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. At his office, Dan finds an expensive bill he
paid to a pet store and follows up by visiting its proprietor, Gus Klein.
Gus informs him that the payment was actually for services he
provided as a private investigator. Gus tells Dan he hired him to follow his
wife Judith and that his investigation had revealed she was indeed cheating on
him with a man named Jack Stanton. Dan overhears Judith arranging a meeting
with Jack Stanton, and he promptly follows her. Judith stops at the site of an
old shipwreck. Assuming the wreck is a key in remembering his past, Dan has its
removal postponed. One night, Jeb's wife Jenny tells Dan there is significantly
more to his accident than he's aware of. Jenny accuses Judith of planning the
accident to eliminate Dan.
