MURDER BY NUMBERS (***)
Here's a nice change for a suspense thriller. Instead of finding out things along with the characters, we know everything in advance and watch them get where we are. MURDER BY NUMBERS is a unique whodunit that doesn't concentrate on who did it. Its treat is the mindgames between the murderers and the police. In an age where thrillers try and entertain us by making guess who the killer is, it's stimulating to find one where we have to guess how the killer will outthink the good guys (and vice versa).
The movie is about two high school kids who attempt to pull off the perfect murder. In doing so, they want to laugh in the face of authority. Justin (Michael Pitt of HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH) is the brilliant social misfit (the brains of the two), while Richard (Ryan Gosling of THE BELIEVER) is the smart, cool, and arrogant rich kid (the muscle). They murder at random a mother of two, and as soon as the body is found, the story kicks into gear.
Captain Cassie Mayweather (Sandra Bullock of WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING) is assigned to the case. She is cold, aggressive, determined, and meticulous. People like this usually have issues to deal with, and Cassie is no exception. Her issues come into play as the plot progresses. Her assigned partner is Sam Kennedy (Ben Chaplin of THE TRUTH ABOUT CATS AND DOGS), a by-the-book rookie detective who does good work, but does not quite know what to make of his partner. They occasionally butt heads but come together to try and solve the case.
As they proceed through their investigations, Justin and Richard notice that the police have swallowed their bait and look for the person whom they have framed. But Cassie isn't quite convinced of the trail they've followed. What happens next, I cannot reveal as not to ruin your expectations. But the hints and clues are revealed with such order and timing, that the story becomes absorbing, and the film never runs out of material to keep us from guessing what will happen next. The movie's suspense is not 'who is the killer?', but 'will they catch him?'
What I liked most about the film is the look it takes at police investigation. The film's strength is more on 'how' than on 'why'. We get to see how police are often tempted by certain situations to go for the simplest explanation in solving a case (don't we all?). In this one, Richard's father is an influential member of the local community with political ties. This hampers the efforts of the police chief who also has his career to worry about. I especially liked the interrogation scenes where police try and trick the two suspects into confessing their acts. Even though we know their methods by the end of the movie, we still wouldn't want to dare test it even with this added knowledge.
Some people still think that the idea of high school kids attempting to commit murder of this nature is silly. But if you witnessed the tragic Columbine massacre, this can be far too real. The movie doesn't take a deep look at that reality, but it offers a glimpse. They have affluent parents who think material wealth is real happiness (they barely appear on screen, but their kids' belongings give away their values). As Cassie correctly observes, these teens feel their life is empty, and maybe killing someone will give their life meaning. It gives me chills to think that this type of emotional atrophy is allowed to happen.
The acting is well done, especially by the following actors. Ryan Gosling and Michael Pitt embody their roles glowingly, and project an intelligence that is quite uncommon for their characters, but fit for a film like this one. I was impressed with the way they were able to imply that they were naive about the murders, yet able to contain a complete awareness of what is going on. They are convincing as teenagers who have something to prove, even to the point of foolishness.
In my review of DRAGONFLY, I stated how Kevin Costner's defeated performance marked a low point in his career. I'm glad to see that Sandra Bullock hasn't lost her nerve as he has. MURDER BY NUMBERS is a remarkable showcase of how good an actor she is. She's known for her likeability and cute antics, yet she completely stays away from these tendencies to deliver a very different type of performance. She plays a woman struggling with past demons who turns her self-loathing onto others by breaking them down in any way she can. She has a fierce will here (which clings to the edge sometimes) that I have never seen (even in A TIME TO KILL) in her before. And she still looks great!
Though it takes a bit of time to warm up, MURDER BY NUMBERS slowly but surely fills in the blanks. And it builds its suspense nice and easy, displaying its teeth in the middle, and ending in a somewhat satisfying conclusion. It's a nice little thriller where you know somebody is bound to be hanging off a cliff with a creepy house so close to it.
Posted by FLIPCRITIC at June 6, 2002 12:00 AM