The Watcher *** (2000, Keanu Reeves, James Spader, Marisa Tomei) – Classic Movie Review 1598

Director Joe Charbanic’s 2000 mystery crime thriller The Watcher stars Keanu Reeves, who this time takes a showy but nasty role as a serial killer called David Allen Griffin. He is a meticulous murderer, each time choosing his next female victim carefully, studying her for weeks till he knows her routines down to the smallest detail.

He also enjoys playing a sadistic game of cat and mouse with an understandably nervous FBI agent named Joel Campbell (James Spader) by sending him a photo of his next intended victim, challenging him to find her before he strikes again.

Frustrated and distressed by his failure to capture the always one-step-ahead Griffin, Campbell has given up the chase for him in LA and re-located to Chicago, quitting the FBI, though remaining a psychiatric therapist. But, eerily, it turns out that Griffin has followed him to his new home when Campbell suddenly realises that a new murder victim is Griffin’s.

A jazzy film-making style and a vibrant soundtrack spark up this taut and exciting psychological thriller, with a pair of well-matched, credible turns by on-form stars. It’s all about the two men, so alas Marisa Tomei is wasted in a not very exciting role as the psychiatrist who is helping Spader and soon becomes a lady in peril herself at the mercy of Reeves.

Reeves gave his verbal agreement to Charbanic several years earlier after reading his original script so the film was able to attract a starrier cast and larger budget, and Reeves’ support part was substantially rewritten to feature him more prominently.

Also in the cast are Ernie Hudson, Chris Ellis, Robert Cicchini, Yvonne Niami, Jenny McShane and Gina Alexander.

The screenplay by Darcy Myers, David Elliot and Clay Ayers is based on a story by Darcy Myers and David Elliot.

The Watcher is directed by Joe Charbanic, runs 97 minutes, is made by Interlight, is released by Universal, is written by Darcy Myers, David Elliot and Clay Ayers, based on a story by Darcy Myers and David Elliot, is shot by Michael Chapman, is produced by Christopher Eberts and Elliott Lewitt, and is scored by Marco Beltrami.

© Derek Winnert 2014 Classic Movie Review 1598

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