Taking Lives ** (2004, Angelina Jolie, Ethan Hawke, Kiefer Sutherland, Paul Dano, Gena Rowlands, Olivier Martinez, Tchéky Karyo) – Classic Movie Review 3026

Director D J Caruso’s teasing 2004 thriller starts by setting you up for a gripping thriller only to disappoint.

In tiny roles, Kiefer Sutherland and Paul Dano do well as the centre part of the film’s mystery man and as the killer’s 18-year-old self in the sizzling prologue to the film. Angelina Jolie stars as FBI profiler agent Illeana Scott, coming to Montreal to help out detectives on the case of a cunning serial killer who is ‘life-jacking’ – assuming the lives of his victims. Ethan Hawke plays local art dealer James Costa, who interrupts a murder in progress, and is now a target since the killer got a good look at him. Then there’s a scary suspect, Kiefer Sutherland, seen by the cops only in fleeting glimpses.

Jolie and Hawke are both on excellent form in quirky roles and the movie looks extremely smart, with the unusual Montreal locations, strikingly lensed by Amir M Mokri, paying off big time. Yet credibility and sympathy erode early on and never return, what with not enough suspects and the killer so easy to spot, plus Jon Bokenkamp’s screenplay’s daft dialogue constantly sapping the film’s energy.

The source book by Michael Pye concentrates profitably on the Mr Ripley-style killer and the police detective character is an invention of the film script that makes the cardinal error of pulling the story round to be all about her, and mainly for that reason doesn’t really work. The film ends up as a disappointing mess, but nevertheless it is still watchable as an intriguing failure.

Philip Glass’s score is a considerable asset. Also in the strong cast are Gena Rowlands, Olivier Martinez, Tchéky Karyo, Jean Hughes-Anglade, Justin Chatwin, André Lacoste and Billy Two Rivers.

It is rated R for strong violence, including disturbing images, strong language and some sexuality. Surprisingly, now that she is a big star, Jolie gets her kit off.

It runs 103 minutes but the Unrated Director’s Cut runs 109 minutes.

Classic Movie Review 3026