Barbet Schroeder's "Murder by Numbers" starring Sandra Bullock is solid work, though not particularly compelling. I am a big Sandra Bullock fan, and she is effective here as forensic detective Cassie Mayweather, who is not very likable and a broken person too. However, there is a sense of detachment inherent in the story structure. It's about the perfect murder executed by two spoiled sociopath teenagers, Richard (Ryan Gusling) who is the cool one, and Justin ( Michael Pitt) who is the sympathetic geek. Basically, Richard and Justin kill a young woman, because they have nothing better to do on a school night. They are very smart and very arrogant which is normally not a bad thing, but it just doesn't work here. Tony Gayton's script does a great job of detailing the investigation of a puzzling murder, and it is truly by the numbers. We have these two punk kids flaunting their superiority, and we just want them to take a fall. This is not a great exploration into the dark side, like Schroeder's "Reversal of Fortune" about Claus von Bulow. There are interesting turns in "Numbers". The movie is not so much a thriller, but rather a character study of Cassie. Sandra Bullock balances the bravado of Cassie, her fear of letting people get in with her, and her secret past. Bullock brings courage and strength to a suffering character. Her partner and sort of love interest, Sam (played by Ben Chaplin), is more a plot unconcealing than a real character. Though Chaplin does the bewilderment thing very admirably. The other nice touch is having Richard and Justin involved a strange sexual attraction. The most interesting thing about "Numbers" are Pitt and Gusling. There are many entertaining twists and turns throughout the movie.Read full review
MurdEr 8y Num8ers is a very well written film that will hold your interests from beginning to end. It offers a good amount of suspense, but lacks action and excitement. Even with this being said, we still enjoy watching it. Its one we own, that we have watched time and time again. We Recommend It. Our Overall Rating: 7.5/10 We hope that you found this Review helpful!
Good movie. Good cast
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
ONE of Sandra's better, early one's & got Pitt on the "map"..A Gosling good,dy
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
Intense and a good adult movie. Excellent characters!
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
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