Perhaps
the best compliment I can pay the new thriller Murder By Numbers is that it's
not a Sandra Bullock vehicle. This isn't to say I don't like Bullock. Actually,
I've enjoyed some of her films (Speed and While You Were Sleeping just to name
two), and felt that her likable persona was an integral part in those films' successes.
Bullock
goes against type in Murder By Numbers as an emotionally withdrawn homicide detective
who teams with new partner Ben Chaplin to solve a murder case that leads them
to a couple of teenagers who may be responsible for the crime. One of the teenagers
in question is a brilliant, yet shy social outcast (played by Michael Pitt from
Hedwig and the Angry Inch), while the other is a self-assured ego maniac (played
by Ryan Gosling from The Believer). Why would the two commit murder? Because they
can.
Murder By
Numbers was directed by Barbet Schroeder, a gifted film maker who's quite effective
when he's at the top of his game (see Reversal of Fortune and Barfly). Of course
he has been involved in a fair share of over-hyped commercialism (see Single White
Female). Certainly I found this movie to be stronger than the Bridget Fonda, Jennifer
Jason Leigh thriller, but it's still considerably flawed. Most disheartening is
the complexity of the Bullock character. While her past plays an important role
in this picture, Schroeder and his screenwriter subject the audience to flashbacks
and all-too-obvious cliches that result in the character's severe emotional problems.
I would have preferred less explanation. Schroeder also seems too interested in
paying homage to Hitchcock, particularly in the film's over the top climax.
I
credit Bullock for attempting something new here. For much of this film, she comes
across as abrasive and almost unlikable. Still, she never really loses herself
in the part. It is the two young leads that give this movie it's power. Michael
Pitt has an interesting look and plays the social outcast to perfection. He's
also sly and, at times, it's hard to figure out what he's up to. Gosling is also
a revelation, and he's had the opportunity to display raw emotion before (check
out his brilliant turn in The Believer). He's perfect as a young man convinced
that he can get away with anything. What's most impressive is the way these two
play off one another. They have a strange chemistry and it's hard to see which
one of them is calling the shots.
Murder
By Numbers seems inspired by the real life Leopold and Loeb case from 1924 in
which a couple of young men committed murder, but this picture degenerates into
plot-by-numbers rather than exploring the most interesting aspect of the story;
the characters' motivation. Still, Gosling and Pitt are intriguing and make the
movie worth watching.
