Murder by Numbers (2002)

Two gifted high school students execute a "perfect" murder - then become engaged in an intellectual contest with a seasoned homicide detective.

Director:

Barbet Schroeder

Writer:

Tony Gayton

Stars:

Sandra Bullock, Ben Chaplin, Ryan Gosling

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sandra Bullock	...	Cassie Mayweather / Jessica Marie Hudson
Ben Chaplin	...	Sam Kennedy
Ryan Gosling	...	Richard Haywood
Michael Pitt	...	Justin Pendleton
Agnes Bruckner	...	Lisa Mills
Chris Penn	...	Ray Feathers
R.D. Call	...	Captain Rod Cody
Tom Verica	...	Asst. D.A. Al Swanson
Janni Brenn	...	Ms. Elder
John Vickery	...	Restaurant Manager
Michael Canavan	...	Mr. Chechi
Krista Carpenter	...	Olivia Lake, the Victim
Neal Matarazzo	...	Male Officer in Flashback
Adilah Barnes	...	Lab Technician
Jim Jansen	...	Lawyer

Storyline

Richard Haywood, a Californian high school's coolest kid, secretly teams up with another rich kid in his class, brilliant nerd Justin 'Bonaparte' Pendleton, whose erudition, specially in forensic matters, allows them to plan elaborately perfect murders, just for the kick, for which they set up Richard's marijuana supplier, their school's janitor Ray Feathers, as a psychotic serial killer. The case is assigned to detectives Cassie 'the hyena' Mayweather, who carries a sequoia-size chip on the shoulder from her previous life, and her brilliant new partner, Sam Kennedy, who just transferred from the vice squad; they can work together very well, and even fit romantically, but fall out over different professional attitudes towards the investigation, which Captain Rod Cody and her understandably vindictive abused ex, Assistant D.A. Al Swanson, soon ban her from when she disobeys instructions and hand to him. When the plotting boys both dig class-mate Lisa Mills, their unnatural bond comes ...

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Plot Keywords:

murder | high school | janitor | forensics | investigation | 

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Taglines:

Let The Mind Games Begin

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence, language, a sex scene and brief drug use

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [fr] Official site [uk]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 April 2002 (USA)

Also Known As:

Foolproof

Filming Locations:

Altadena, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$50,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$262,841 (Australia) (1 November 2002)

Gross:

$685,907 (Australia) (15 November 2002)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros, Castle Rock Entertainment, Schroeder Hoffman Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

120 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The scene near the end of the movie, where Ryan Gosling licks Sandra Bullock's face, was not scripted. After a few takes, Gosling asked Bullock if it would be okay if he added it in to prove his character's sick nature.

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Goofs

After Richard shoots Justin, when Cassie starts pulling Justin away, there is clearly no wound on his upper arm. The wound only appears after she has finished dragging him away.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Richard: Shall we say the words one last time?
Justin: One cannot live fully without embracing suicide in crime.
Richard: Say it.
Justin: A pact made with relentless fire that requires that, while some live, others die.
Richard: On three...
in unison: One, two, three
[gun shot]

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Connections

References CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2000)

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Soundtracks

"I Shall Believe"
Written by Sheryl Crow and Bill Bottrell
Performed by Sheryl Crow
Courtesy of A&M Records
Under license from Universal Music Enterprises

User Reviews

Pretty Cliche, and the kids get all the good scenes

I predicted too many things in this movie and the only thing that kept my interest were the two young actors playing teenagers. They seemed to have the stronger and by far, more interesting scenes. They definitely seemed to have more to do than our star, Sandra Bullock.

Bullock always plays this independent character that lives alone and has predictable "back story" issues. I would like to see her do something a little more challenging.

Not bad, just not great. 6/10