FBI agent Thomas Mackelway (Aaron Eckhart) has been sent to a small town after he was disgraced in a court hearing of an accused serial killer. What seems to be a simple, dull life ahead of him livens up when a body is found in a car. Suddenly a string of bizarre murders have occurred, and Mackelway is slowly being dragged into the case by messages being left for him by the killer. Even co-agent Fran Kulok (Carrie-Anne Moss) who he had an affair with, cannot cope with Mackelway’s obsessive behaviour as they get closer to the killer’s identity, and the truth about a secret hidden within the FBI. A half decent entry into the serial killer phenomenon of the 90s and 00s. This one has the added twist that of is the killer doing it for pleasure or for a reason. Aaron Eckhart, as good an actor that he is, and has proved it several times (The Company Of Men is a perfect example) cannot pull off the leading male in these type of movies. Yes, he’s human, yes he can suffer but it doesn’t grab the viewer. Ben Kingsley goes for the OTT approach as the killer with a deep dark secret. He livens up the scenes he appears in, but is that really enough? Speaking of enough, Carrie Anne Moss is given very little to do, which is a shame. Director E. Elias Merhige, who previously brought us the superior Shadow Of The Vampire, does a far job with the tension, but it becomes a little too flashy and that doesn’t help in keeping the plot in line. The original script by Zak Penn had been knocking around Hollywood since the late 1990s. Sylvester Stallone, Tom Cruise and Ben Affleck all expressed interest. Affleck even attempted a rewrite of the script, along with Paul Schrader and Richard Friedenberg, until Billy Ray took up the position. Cruise decided to decline but produced the film. He asked for his name to be removed from the credits just prior to the release. The film didn’t get a cinema release in the UK, which is a pity, as there have been much worse that have been allowed to be shown. It didn’t do too well in the States. For fans or the genre, it’s worth checking out. For everyone else, it’s an interesting failure.Read full review
An intelligent and powerful thriller that tells the twisting tale of an FBI agents hunt for a serial killer who seems to target serial killers. The film is fast paced without being frantic and holds the attention from start to finish. An excellent cast take their roles well and are believable in their characterisation. All in all a great evenings entertainment. Much to my surprise the sort of film to keep and see again.
I saw a trailer for this movie on apple some time ago, and was waiting for it to appear at the cinema when I stumbled across it on ebay. Its really quite a gripping psychological yarn with some excellent performances by the lead actors, just seems to have slipped under the radar for most people. See it.
I got into this ok then just sat and watched it, not a bad film but i think Sir Ben Kingsley could of done better by opting out of this film, He does some great stuff in Sexy Beast he was top dollar,I quickly sold this film on!! not on my shelve anymore no suree.
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