Al Pacino Katie Holmes Thriller “Son Of No One” Panned At Sundance Film Festival

A theatrical thriller about a young cop with a dark secret, starring Al Pacino and Katie Holmes, prompted frustrated film reviewers to walk out of its screening at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah this week, reports claims.

Spywitnesses in attendance tell The Hollywood Reporter that there was an “exodus” of critics walking out of the theater “well before the end credits” of the police thriller Son of No One, which marks Homes’ latest effort to emerge from hubby Tom Cruises’s pint-sized shadow. The stakes were high for Mrs. Cruise after bosses from Sony Pictures, Miramax, and Paramount all piled in to watch the new flick, which co-stars Channing Tatum, Ray Liotta, Tracy Morgan, and Juliette Binoche, expecting to enter a bidding war over distribution rights to the movie. Instead, the film was met with an abysmal reception.

“The negative response went beyond the walkouts. One viewer’s attempt to begin applause after the lights came up drew almost no takers…” The Reporter writes of the movie, directed by Sundance vet Dito Montiel.

Son of No One is described as “a police thriller about a young cop (Tatum) who is assigned to a precinct in the Queens neighborhood where he grew up. To provide for his wife and ailing daughter, he works hard to keep his life on track. But this life is threatened when a dark secret bubbles to the surface. An anonymous source reveals new information about the unsolved murder of two boys and a possible police cover-up, setting off a chain of events that rattles the neighborhood.”

No One producer Cassian Elwes says Holmes is “very upset” by the negative response generated by the movie at this year’s Sundance Festival. After all, it was jst a few weeks ago that Katie’s highly-anticipated portrayal of Jackie Kennedy in The History Channel miniseries The Kennedys was scrapped after squawking from members of the political dynasty. Elwes, nonetheless, stands by both Holmes and the film itself. He claims that several studios have shown interest in giving it a wider release and blames a technical error for the early exits.

“Despite Katie’s few scenes, she was fantastic in the role,” he told Us Weekly Wednesday. “We’ve already received three offers on the film. We’re 100% behind her and the entire cast’s performances in this film. There wasn’t a mass exodus. The people who did see it, liked the film. [Katie] loves the film and she’s great in it. She’s very upset by this attack.”

The movie has been picked to close the festival on Friday.