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 student | sociopath | teenage boy | disposing of a dead body | 

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Taglines:

Let The Mind Games Begin

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Genres:

Crime | Mystery | 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 [France] Official site [UK]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 April 2002 (USA)

Also Known As:

Murd3r 8y Num8ers

Filming Locations:

541 Embarcadero, Morro Bay, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$50,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$9,307,394, 21 April 2002, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$31,874,869, 30 June 2002

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros., Castle Rock Entertainment, Schroeder Hoffman Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

115 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The print of Murder by Numbers (2002) shown on a cable premium channel was 119 minutes long, not 115 as posted.

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Goofs

After Justin slaps Richard, you can see the microphone on the bottom of the screen.

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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

Features Matlock (1986)

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Soundtracks

Take a Ride
Written by Joel Faraci, Hans Gutknecht and Robert Kennedy
Performed by Sucker Pump
Courtesy of Kid Gloves Music

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