Cate Blanchett is a widowed mother of three small boys in a southern town. She supports them all by reading the cards -- not Tarot, but what appear to be Duke University cards. She is subject to visions of her dead grandmother and dreams. When Greg Kinnear's fiancee disappears, the police reluctantly call Miss Blanchett, whose vision lead them to drag redneck Keanu Reeves' pond and find the corpse.

Sam Raimi's movie is not a standard horror movie, but a meditation on the oppressiveness of having psychic abilities, or indeed, different. It's populated with quite a distinguished list of actors, including J. K. Simmons, Michael Jeter, Katie Holmes, Hillary Swank, and Rosemary Harris. Given Raimi's varied credits -- he was working on SPIDERMAN while cutting this film -- it offers an interesting vision of what super-powers mean. Or perhaps, if you're not so inclined, some fine work on editing for atmosphere.

I was hooked on this show, even though in the end I had it all figured out. That said, Cate Blanchett is very good as a mother who is doing what she can to keep a roof over her fatherless children. She unknowingly makes the mistake of advising a woman, played by Hillary Swank, who is being victimized by her ruthless husband, Keanu Reeves. He blames Blanchett for attempting to break out their marriage and threatens her family, describing how you skin a squirrel while looking at her little boys. He is a bastard. When Katie Holmes disappears, Cate is brought in to help find the body. Her psychic powers lead to the discovery and because Reeves had been seen beating the young woman, he is arrested and convicted of the murder. Of course, there is more to this and it's just too easy to put two and two together. The strong side of the film, however, is incredible atmosphere, especially in the scenes where Blanchett has visions and dreams. There is also a cloud hanging over everyone throughout the film. Her character is seen as a kind of witch by the huckleberries in the town. It's good at getting ones blood up, but it is a bit too manipulative at times.

Jessica King (Katie Holmes),the fiancée of Wayne Collins (Greg Kinnear),has gone missing. Annabelle Wilson (Cate Blanchett) is the local psychic who has visions of Jessica King. Following her advise, Sheriff Pearl Johnson (J.K. Simmons) dredges the swamp and finds Jessica's body. Donnie Barksdale (Keanu Reeves) is jailed for the murder. However, Annabelle keeps getting visions. There's more to the murder.

Director Sam Raimi has teamed up with Billy Bob Thornton once again and this time as a writer. Cate Blanchett is terrific. There is an overload of big time actors. I almost wish that some of the lesser roles get played by smaller unknown actors. When it's overloaded like this, the movie can feel very Hollywood. However Blanchett never once feels fake in any way. She becomes the character with ease.