Law & Order: Criminal Intent (TV Series) Bright Boy (2002) User Reviews

What's The Story Here?

[ccthemovieman-1 · 8/10 · 15 December 2006]

The deputy mayor, trying to make the moves on a social worker, is denied and asks the woman as she is exiting his car to get him a newspaper. She comes back with it and is mugged. (We only see this from the driver's view.) A gun appears and the political official is shot and killed. A short time later, the social worker is found dead. At first, the prime suspect is a druggie father who just had his kids taken away earlier in the day by the social worker, but that's a smokescreen.

One of the boys' "on the bubble" of making a prestigious academic jump - a young genius attending a college, was not recommended to be accepted by the social worker the school had hired to evaluate kids' psychologically. Thus, the father, killed the worker before her report could be submitted to the school. Yet, later, it looks like that may not be true. It may be the kid lied to his dad because he didn't want to go to that school. It gets convoluted and it's up to Det. Goren and Eames to figure what the real story is here.

Just your average kid

[bkoganbing · 7/10 · 4 October 2016]

I suppose that the killer here thought that everyone would assume that a Deputy Mayor being killed at the same time as the intended victim, a social worker would throw the cops off the track. All it did is bring the eclectic mind of Vincent D'Onofrio and Major Case into this one.

The victim here is Phoebe Jonas a social worker who does evaluations of high IQ kids to get them placed in advanced academia.

Tim Guinee who has made playing quietly fanatical characters a specialty is the father of Liam Aitken whom he desperately wants to get to a high end school.

I can kind of understand that. There are lots of programs galore around for those who know the system. My sister-in-law who taught in the public schools for years knew the system and I remember her searching for a high school with the proper program for my nephew. She knew that he would get special attention just by dint of being in a program. But she didn't kill to get him there.

In the end Liam Aitken will break your heart as the kid who just wants a normal childhood like everyone else.

About a boy

[TheLittleSongbird · 8/10 · 26 February 2020]

"Dead" was a great opening to Season 2 of 'Law and Order: Criminal Intent', on the whole one of the better shows in the 'Law and Order' franchise (prefer the earlier seasons than the later ones though and feel the same about the original and 'Special Victims Unit'). Which on the whole proved to be just as good as the consistently solid and at its best brilliant first season, so expectations were high and were very much met. Expectations were high too for the following episode "Bright Boy".

Again, those high expectations were met if not quite exceeded. "Bright Boy" is not quite as good as "Dead", with not as fascinating or as creepy a killer and the story not quite as succinct. It is still though a very compelling episode and a very good representation of the show, with a fair share of entertaining moments and also manages to be surprisingly emotional. Helped by the character of Robbie and his chemistry with Goren, the hearts of the episode and a big part of its appeal.

"Bright Boy's" story as said is not quite as easy to follow at times, with it getting on the convoluted and not easy to believe side towards the end.

So much though in "Bright Boy" works. The episode is at its best with the interaction between Goren and Robbie. Goren always had touching chemistry with children/younger characters, evident in "Homo Homini Lupus" as far as previous episodes go, and his interaction with Robbie is so tenderly handled and had genuine poignancy as they got closer. Some amusing touches too that bring a smile to the face.

There is a very relatable story here that will resonate especially with anybody pushed to the limit and striving for success, it will even hit home. Despite any problems towards the end, the emotional power of the episode from the case being as sad as it is is pretty undeniable. The script is both taut and sympathetic with many moments that provoke thought, again shining most with Goren and Robbie. Goren is still fascinating as a character, he is amusing and hard-boiled but also with a softer side as shown here. The mystery itself is compelling and never too obvious thanks to some nice turns in the plot that mostly work.

Vincent D'Onofrio plays him to perfection and shares great chemistry with a more subtle Kathryn Erbe. Tim Guinee is very good at making one feel anger at his character, but along with D'Onofrio it's Liam Aiken's affecting performance that lives in the memory (especially in the more vulnerable moments when Robbie opens up). The production values are as slick as usual and the music is a good fit.

In conclusion, very good mostly. 8/10