Review #155: Murder by Numbers (2002)

Cast/Notable Credits:
Barbet Schroeder (Director): Single White Female (1992)

Sandra Bullock (Cassie Mayweather): Demonlition Man (1993), Speed (1994) & 2 (1997), The Net (1995), Premonition (2007)

Ben Chaplin (Sam Kennedy): The Thin Red Line (1998), Two Weeks (2006)

Ryan Gosling (Richard Haywood): Remember the Titans (2000), The Notebook (2004), Stay (2005)

Michael Pitt (Justin Pendleton): Finding Forrester (2000), Bully (2001), The Village (2004), Funny Games (2007), Dawson's Creek T.V. Series

Agnes Bruckner (Lisa): The Woods

Chris Penn (Ray Feathers): Footloose (1984), Pale Rider (1985), Mobsters (1991), Beethoven’s 2nd (1993), Mulholland Falls (1996), Rush Hour (1998), Corky Romano (2001), Stealing Harvard (2002), Starsky & Hutch (2004), After the Sunset (2004)

R.D. Call (Cpt. Cody): Born on the 4th of July (1989), Young Guns 2 (1990), Waterworld (1995),

Tom Verica (Ast. D.A. Swanson): Die Hard 2 (1990), Red Dragon (2002), Flags of Our Fathers (2006), Zodiac (2007), The Naked Truth, Providence, American Dreams & The Nine T.V. Series

Trailer:


Plot:

Two high school kids, Justin and Richard, decide to commit the “perfect crime”. The two come up with a plan to kill a person and try to see if they get away with it. Justin and Richard abduct a random local female (Olivia Lake), kill her and then they leave her body in the woods for the police to find.

The lead detective on the case is Cassie Mayweather (Sandra Bullock), who has had a traumatic life altering event in her past similar to the case. Her investigation eventually leads to the two teens as she tries to coax them into a confession. Justin and Richard play a cat and mouse game with her, doing everything but admitting to the crime.

Villain:

Richard Haywood and Justin Pendleton are the film’s co-plotting villains. The two troubled teens have set out to plan the perfect murder and get away with it. Basically two high schoolers come up with an elaborate plan to kill someone while having the perfect alibi.

Right here is my biggest beef with the movie…the two villains. We’ve all seen movies where some seniors in high school go out and kill someone. I usually have no problem with that. Murder by Number’s problem is…the two kids they’ve casted to be villains. I look at them and I’m not definitely intimidated by them.

Honestly, I look at them and think that they are a little…gay. I mean not as in “happy” gay, but more “I love to go shopping at the Banana Republic on the weekends” gay. Come on’ who’s going to be afraid of a bunch of little twerps that don’t represent anything masculine at all? I was less than impressed with the casting of the two murders.

As for the two murders themselves in the movie, I think that the producers were going down the right track, but the casting of them just ruined them. Richard (Ryan Gosling) is the school’s spoiled little rich kid with endless amounts of cash to blow at his disposal. Daddy’s off making money and mommy is sitting at home getting plastered. So what’s a kid to do? How ‘bout kill someone just for fun?

Richard attempts to seduce Cassie because…well…he thinks that he’s the sh*t. You know…God’s gift to women. I just couldn’t buy that aspect of it (casting related). Richard thinks he’s untouchable by the law and continues to push the buttons of the police. Richard is basically a prick.

Justin (Michael Pitt) on the other hand is the polar opposite of Richard. Justin is the secluded type. He keeps to himself, with his nose buried in his books. Justin’s the sappy “nobody loves me” guy that goes around school trying to be unnoticed. But Justin’s the smart one of the two.

Cast:

Sandra Bullock stars in the film as the lead detective, Cassie Mayweather. Cassie’s character is a little bit out of the norm for Sandra. Cassie has had a traumatic experience with a boyfriend in her past which left her nearly dead. She went on into the detective field to try and purge those demons that haunt her. Cassie struggles and eventually overcomes her personal demons as she closes the case on the murders.

Cassie has dedicated her life to work, and cares very little for the male species. She typically uses the male for her own personal needs and satisfaction and then discards them quickly before any emotional bond is made. Isn’t that like gender role reversal? Typically the males look to satisfy their needs and take off when they are met.

Ben Chaplin plays Cassie’s partner, Sam Kennedy. Sam’s kind of a likable guy in the movie. He means well in his intentions and is more or less a lovable loaf. But I can’t get over the whole “uni-brow” thing Chaplin has. It was a little distracting.

The film uses him as the second half of the role reversal in his relationship with Cassie. Cassie plays the typical “I’m moving on” guy role, while Sam plays the traditional female role of “let’s settle down and cuddle”. I found that plot line of the film pretty fascinating.

SFX/Gore:

Murder by Numbers really isn’t a movie for “high body counts”. It’s more of a psychological thriller that plots the police versus the bad kids. There were a couple deaths in the movie, but the biggest death surrounds the female victim. There was nothing in the film (blood wise) that was gory, or brutal. Basically it was lack-luster when it came to gore, but it was done with some tastefulness and class.

TNA:

The movie is limited with eye candy for the male audience, but its quality not quantity. Bullock (Pictured Below) is still a very attractive female for her age. She’s not uberly hot in a model sense, but has that Tom-boy, geeky girl quality that drive guys nuts.

Murder by Numbers does have the hot girl part in it…and that part goes to the gorgeous Agnes Bruckner (Pictured Below). It’s a limited role for her, but she’s as cute as a button. Bruckner is a personal favorite of mine, I usually give her and her huge frontal assets some type of nickname based on the movie, but I won’t this film. It’s kind of weird that the movies she doesn’t have a whole lot of screen time in are actually the better ones she’s been in.

T.Gun’s Take:

Murder by Numbers is a pretty decent and solid thriller flick. I thought it could have been a little bit better if the casting of the two villains was done differently. I just flat out didn’t like the two kids they choose, especially Richard (Gosling). I found it a little hard to swallow that Richard was trying to lure in Cassie with his attractiveness.

I just found that little subplot to be a little “off”. I just couldn’t imagine Cassie even being remotely attracted to him. Maybe it’s me, but if I were Cassie, I would be like, “Get away you little creep!” every time Richard attempted his moves on her.

I did like how the film made the audience think who the real mastermind behind the murders really was. Is it Richard or is it Justin? Richard or Justin? I found that aspect of the movie quiet interesting and refreshing.

Overall, Murder by Numbers is an enjoyable movie to watch. I was a little disappointed with it at first, but after seeing countless other pieces of crap out on the market, I realized that it wasn’t half bad.

Misc. Movie Trivia:
-Film opened on April 19, 2002 and made $31.8 million at the Box Office ($9.3 million opening weekend)
-Loosely based off the real life murders of Richard Loeb and Nathan Leopold (Leopold and Loeb)