Taking Lives (2004)

User Rating:

5.8/10   

Director:

D.J. Caruso

Writers (WGA):

Michael Pye (novel)
Jon Bokenkamp (screen story)

Release Date:

19 March 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

He would kill to be you.

Plot:

An FBI profiler is called in by French Canadian police to catch a serial killer who takes on the identity of each new victim.

Plot Keywords:

Serial Killer | Profiler | Police | FBI | Scissor Stabbing

Awards:

3 nominations

Cast

Angelina Jolie	...	Illeana
Ethan Hawke	...	Costa
Kiefer Sutherland	...	Hart
Gena Rowlands	...	Mrs. Asher
Olivier Martinez	...	Paquette
Tchéky Karyo	...	Leclair
Jean-Hugues Anglade	...	Duval
Paul Dano	...	Young Asher
Justin Chatwin	...	Matt Soulsby
André Lacoste	...	Cashier
Billy Two Rivers	...	Car Salesman
Richard Lemire	...	Québec City Cop
Julien Poulin	...	Québec City Inspector
Marie-Josée Croze	...	Medical Examiner
Christian Tessier	...	Interrogation Officer

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence including disturbing images, language and some sexuality.

Runtime:

103 min | USA:109 min (unrated version)

Country:

USA | Australia | Canada

Language:

English | French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Japan:R-15 | Ireland:18 | Indonesia:Dewasa | Iceland:16 | Malaysia:18SG | New Zealand:R16 | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | Brazil:14 | Canada:18A | Canada:R (director's cut) | Chile:14 | Finland:K-15 | France:-12 | Germany:16 | Hong Kong:IIB | Hong Kong:III (director's cut) | Netherlands:16 | Norway:15 | Peru:14 | Philippines:R-18 | Singapore:M18 (director's cut) | Singapore:NC-16 (edited for re-rating) | Singapore:R(A) (original rating) | South Korea:18 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:16 (canton of the Grisons) | UK:15 | USA:R | USA:Unrated (director's cut)

Filming Locations:

Chemin du Lac, Knowlton's Landing, Québec, Canada

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

Screenwriters Nicholas Kazan, Hillary Seitz and David Ayer worked on revisions for Jon Bokenkamp's script.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Costa is Waiting for Hart in the bar, the bartender offers a refill and Costa is holding his empty glass (with ice in it). In the next shot, his glass is back on the bar and is full.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Cashier: Where are you going?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Superman II: Restoring the Vision (2006) (V)

Soundtrack:

Shaved

Creepy, sinister and moody. But SE7EN it ain't...

Despite my love of Angelina Jolie, I must say that Taking Lives wasted a lot of good opportunity.

Given that they invented an entirely new lead character, we can't really compare this to the book, so let's look at it as a movie of it's own right.

Jolie plays Illeana Scott, a somewhat strange FBI agent who is called up to Canada to investigate the grisly murders of several young men, all whom have had their identities stolen by the killer. New to the scene is witness James Costa, Ethan Hawke, who soon grows to have an attachment to Scott.

At turns formulaic and down right rip off (the credits are far too similar to be called a homage to SE7EN), Taking Lives is a very enjoyable piece of work.

Beautifully shot, the film wallows in its moods. It knows that it can be creepy, but it wears it out on its sleeves.

Angelina is on top form as Scott, although its a shame that the movie does stoop to the need for quick-sex-scene-with-unnecessary-titty-shot.

Ethan Hawke is bearable as Costa, although he and Jolie have very little chemistry.

Other players, Olivier Martinez, Gena Rowlands, Tcheky Karyo and Jean Hughes-Angalade are also quite good.

The film does have its highs: excellent cinematography, creepy sinister mood, two fantastic adrenaline-jump moments that I never saw coming. But it also has one FATAL flaw, and that is that anyone who has seen any piece of film or television before will be able to guess who the killer is. Still, a fun movie nevertheless.

7/10 If you get the chance to see it in the cinema, watch people's reactions to the 'scissors-scene'. I was amazed to see hoe genuinely horrified even the most hardened viewers in my cinema were.