Mentes Mortais (2006)

A forensic psychologist (Collette) is tasked with determining whether or not a minor should face murder charges for killing his schoolmate.

Director:

Gregory Read (as Gregory J. Read)

Writer:

Gregory Read (as Gregory J. Read)

Stars:

Eddie Redmayne, Tom Sturridge, Toni Collette

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Eddie Redmayne	...	Alex Forbes
Tom Sturridge	...	Nigel Colbie
Toni Collette	...	Sally Rowe
Richard Roxburgh	...	Martin McKenzie
Kate Maberly	...	Susan Mueller
Jon Overton	...	Josh Campbell (as Jonathan Overton)
Amit Shah	...	Raj Mehta
David Threlfall	...	John Colbie
Cathryn Bradshaw	...	Helen Colbie
Patrick Malahide	...	Headmaster
Hugh Sachs	...	Rev Donaldson
Liam McKenna	...	Mr Fergus
Bryan Robson	...	Mr Evans
Paul Sonkkila	...	Police Bureaucrat
Craig Crosbie	...	Coroner

Storyline

The forensic psychiatric Sally Rowe is called by Detective Martin Mackenzie to analyze the profile of the teenager Alex Forbes, who was found in a train station holding the body of his schoolmate Nigel Colby and with powder in his hand. Alex discloses his relationship with Nigel, who believes that they were descendants of the Templar Knights, and how Nigel used the power of his mind to control him. Mackenzie believes that Alex is the killer, but Susan investigates the family of Nigel under pressure of Alex's father, and finds that all of them belong to an ancient and powerful secret society.

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Plot Keywords:

frame up | forensic psychologist | psychologist | murder | detective | 

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Taglines:

How do you stop a killer who is inside your head?

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Genres:

Crime | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

M/16

Details

Official Sites:

Darclight Films Dendy Films

Country:

Australia UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 August 2006 (Portugal)

Also Known As:

Mentes Mortais

Filming Locations:

Bradford Grammar School, Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$8,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

AUD 12,892 (Australia), 12 November 2006

Company Credits

Production Co:

Australian Film Finance Corporation (AFFC),Lumina Films,Bluewater Pictures

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Actor Richard Roxburgh, who plays Inspector Martin McKenzie, said of this film: "Like Minds is a film about a terribly dark and disturbing relationship between a pair of adolescent lads who enter a dark compact to take lives and to push boundaries. It's a compact with the devil, in a way, and has disastrous and ugly consequences. Inspector McKenzie is called in to investigate this series of brutal murders at their school. McKenzie is a really instinctive cop and as it turns out, he is right. But like a lot of cops, he's quite a dark soul himself. He's also had a relationship with Toni Collette's character (Sally Rowe) in the past, so it's a difficult occurrence for him when she turns up as the forensic scientist on his investigation. It opens up old love wounds...I found the script really well constructed. You were kept guessing the whole way through. You never knew exactly where it was going to take you. That's creative storytelling. It's also scary and very, very dark."

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Goofs

When Alex reads Nigel's book and looks at Nigel's family tree, Nigel's last name is spelled Colbie. However, when he is reading the newspaper at the end, Nigel's name is spelled Colby.

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Quotes

Alex Forbes: I read once that a third of women study psychology to work out their own personal problems, what do you think?

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Connections

References O Desconhecido do Norte-Expresso (1951)

User Reviews

Thrilling departure for Oz film

Like minds is a film that I have seen at Melbourne International Film Festival. It is a refreshing departure from the current bulk of Oz films. It swept me away into it's unique world for it's entire length and it may actually do some decent box office! It kept me guessing and thinking right to the end, in fact my friends and I kept talking about it at Brekki the next morning. It felt to us like it seemed to harp back to some of the wonderful thinking Oz films of the 70's.

It was a refreshing surprise to see a new Australian film maker unashamed to put production value to effective use to complement the drama in every way. It lets craftsmanship take flight to maximize the impact of the drama.

Half way through when the action pace ramps up, I found I really had to focus on who was manipulating whom. Both in the forward and back story. I was even more engrossed.

It was wonderful to see Toni Collette and Richard Roxburgh playing supporting leads. No doubt that was used for a lot of leverage in getting the film made. Toni lets those wonderful ranges of emotion wash across her face in a subtle and strong performance.

Unusual programming for a film festival, not your typical film festival film I don't think.