Movie Type: Police Detective Film, Psychological Thriller
Themes: Thrill Crime, Mind Games, Perfect Crime
Main Cast: Sandra Bullock, Ryan Gosling, Michael Pitt, Agnes Bruckner, Chris Penn
Release Year: 2002
Country: US
Run Time: 120 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
When a pair of bright-but sociopathic teens conspires to commit the perfect murder, a troubled cop teams with her eager new partner to solve the case that left the community in fear and the police without a clue. High school ladies' man Richard Haywood (Ryan Gosling) and outcast Justin Pendleton (Michael Pitt) have no motive to commit murder, but they soon conspire to choose a random victim and pin the crime on local pot dealer Ray (Chris Penn), under the guise that the police will never suspect them of such a brutal act. Determined Det. Cassie Merriweather (Sandra Bullock) is assigned to the case, and quickly becomes suspicious of the elusive teens despite the doubts expressed by her superiors and her lack of solid evidence. Soon entering into a dangerous test of wills with the increasingly desperate and dangerous teens, her investigation leads her down a disturbing path that will test her skills as a detective and her will to survive. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
Review
This Sandra Bullock vehicle is a decent thriller that tries to avoid being by-the-numbers, but staggers in its pace and in its ability to get beyond a cookie-cutter protagonist. This is not to say that Bullock is bad, but rather her tough, troubled cop character (and those of her rookie partner Ben Chaplin and other fellow cops) is weakly developed and fails to step out from standard movie-detective clichés. She also can't equal her unconventional adversaries in the film: a pair of white-collar high-school teenagers (Ryan Gosling, Michael Pitt) -- one a brainy nerd, the other a handsome ladies' man -- who attempt to commit the perfect murder. The eerie idea that two bright articulate youths could resort to such heinous violence seems unbelievable until the memories of the Columbine massacre come to mind, an idea which shades the film in a disturbingly different light. Bullock's bullish detective is on to the deadly duo's murderous scent immediately, but again, the script falters in not giving her some concrete evidence for suspecting the boys. She only goes on instinct which isn't enough in light of evidence that points to another suspect and results in the usual clash with police brass. Of course, things come full circle and the daring Bullock is the only one around when it counts as the film comes to a rousing, but expected climax. Overall, the picture is slow-moving, but entertaining, and features good performances and solid direction by Barbet Schroeder, who has directed and produced a string of similar thrillers, most notably Single White Female. A script with sharper focus on the police duo could have made this one much better. ~ Patrick Legare, All Movie Guide
R.D. Call - Rod; Ben Chaplin - Sam Kennedy; Janni Brenn - Ms. Elder; Dennis Cockrum - Criminalist at Ray's House; John Doolittle - Fingerprint Technician; Jim Jansen - Lawyer; Eric Saiet - Criminalist at Ray's House; Ralph Seymour - Paramedic; Tom Verica - Al Swanson; John Vickery - Restaurant Manager; Michael Canavan - Mr. Chechi; Sharon Madden - Nurse; Adilah Barnes - Lab Technician; Nick Offerman - Uniformed Cop; Brian Stepanek - Parole Board Marshal; Christine Healy - Justin's Mother; Krista Carpenter - Olivia Lake; Neal Matarazzo - Male Officer In Flashback; Paula Scarpino - Female Officer In Flashback; Nancy Osborne - Richard's Mother; Todd Leatherbury - Cop
Credit
Tom Valentine - Art Director, Howard Feuer - Casting, Bruce Babcock - Conductor, Frank Capra III - Co-producer, Carol Oditz - Costume Designer, Frank Capra III - First Assistant Director, Randol Perelman-Taylor - First Assistant Director, David Hyman - First Assistant Director, Jennifer Reiss - First Assistant Director, Barbet Schroeder - Director, Lee Percy - Editor, Sandra Bullock - Executive Producer, Jeffrey Stott - Executive Producer, Frank Capra III - Executive Producer, Lori Guidroz - Hair Styles, Julie Duvic - Location Manager, Clint Mansell - Composer (Music Score), Harvey R. Cohen - Musical Arrangement, Deva Anderson - Musical Direction/Supervision, Delphine Robertson - Musical Direction/Supervision, Valli O'Reilly - Makeup, Gregory Nicotero - Makeup Special Effects, Laurie Smith - Makeup Special Effects, Howard Berger - Makeup Special Effects, K.N.B. EFX Group - Makeup Special Effects, Scott Patton - Makeup Special Effects, Kamar Bitar - Makeup Special Effects, Chiz Hasegawa - Makeup Special Effects, Chad Atkinson - Makeup Special Effects, Garrett Immel - Makeup Special Effects, Brian Rae - Makeup Special Effects, James Hall - Makeup Special Effects, Steve Hartman - Makeup Special Effects, Constance Grayson - Makeup Special Effects, Val Crawford - Makeup Special Effects, David Wogh - Makeup Special Effects, Dustin Blauvelt - Camera Operator, Bob Gorelick - Camera Operator, Ron Goodman - Camera Operator, Kurt E. Soderling - Camera Operator, Stuart Wurtzel - Production Designer, Luciano Tovoli - Cinematographer, Richard Crystal - Producer, Barbet Schroeder - Producer, Susan Hoffman - Producer, Hilton Rosemarin - Set Designer, Antoinette J. Gordon - Set Designer, Steve Saklad - Set Designer, Daniel R. Jennings - Set Designer, James F. Truesdale - Set Designer, Peter Clemens - Set Designer, Thomas D. Causey - Sound Mixer, Nicholas Renbeck - Sound Editor, Norman Howell - Stunts, Mark Banich - Special Effects Supervisor, Randy D. Walker - Technical Advisor, Call The Cops - Technical Advisor, Hank Petroski - Technical Advisor, Dwight VanHorn - Technical Advisor, Stephan Benseman - Unit Production Manager, Tony Gayton - Screenwriter, Charles Gibson - Visual Effects Supervisor, Lewis Goldstein - Sound Effects Editor, Wyatt Sprague - Sound Effects Editor, Nicholas Toth - Animal Trainer/Wrangler, Cougar Hill Ranch Inc - Animal Trainer/Wrangler, Kevin Keith - Animal Trainer/Wrangler, Ron Goodman - Aerial Photography, Kurt E. Soderling - Aerial Photography, Michelle Harrison - Associate Editor, Nic Ratner - Music Editor, Ann Gray - Post Production Coordinator, Paul A. Levin - Post Production Supervisor, Eileen A. O'Donnell - Production Coordinator, Cynthia Hochman Price - Production Supervisor, Ron Bochar - Re-Recording Mixer, Grant Maxwell - Re-Recording Mixer, Tom Fleischman - Re-Recording Mixer, Kerry Lyn McKissick - Script Supervisor, Bruno Van Zeebroeck - Special Effects Coordinator, Bob Gorelick - Steadicam Operator, Ron Bochar - Supervising Sound Editor, Nicholas Renbeck - Supervising Sound Editor, Gina R. Alfano - ADR Editor, Charlene Richards - ADR Mixer, Paul J. Zydel - ADR Mixer, David Lucarelli - ADR Recordist, James Marchione - ADR Recordist, Medusah - Assistant Hair, Meta Puttkammer - Casting Associate, Linda Matthews - Costumes Supervisor, George A. Lara - Foley Artist, Kam Chan - Foley Artist, Raymond Consing - Storyboard Artist, Pacific Title & Art Studio - Visual Effects, Alan Purwin - Pilot, Cliff Fleming - Pilot, Bruce Benson - Pilot, Sondra James - Voice Casting, Martin T. Charles - Graphic Design, Robert Dawson - Title Design, Asylum Visual Effects - Title Design, Justin Blampied - Title Design, Simon Cassels - Title Design
When a dead woman (Jane Doe) is found in the woods near the river, homicide detectives Cassie Mayweather and Sam Kennedy are assigned to the case. Mayweather's investigation leads her to Justin Pendleton and Richard Haywood, two teenagers who want to commit the perfect murder. Haywood happens to have a strong alibi, however; Mayweather suspects that there is more to Haywood's perfect story.
She digs in her own haunted past to find something that helps her solve this crime. She breaks away from her partner and the other detectives to work on her own theories, which jeopardizes her job.
Critical reception
The film received mixed reviews from critics. The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 30% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 121 reviews.[3]Metacritic reported the film had an average score of 50 out of 100, based on 35 reviews.[4]
Box office performance
The film was released April 19, 2002 in the United States and Canada and grossed $9.3 million in 2,663 theaters its opening weekend, ranking #3 at the box office.[5] The film grossed a total of $56,714,147 worldwide — $31,945,749 in the United States and Canada and $24,768,398 in other territories.[6]
