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:

Crime | Drama | Horror | 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:

Assumed Identity | Quebec City | Crime Solving | Psycho Thriller | Disturbing

Awards:

3 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Sun. Oct. 12

10:00 AM

FX

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 | 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:

A scene was shot in which Angelina drives back to her house with the old pick-up and a branch from a tree falls and breaks the windshield. It took several takes to get the shot, and apparently destroyed the last remaining windshields for the pick-up available anywhere in North America at the time. The scene was not used.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: Although the movie is supposed to be taking place in Montreal, a police officer is wearing a "Ville du Quebec" uniform while Chateau Frontenac (also Quebec City) is shown in the background.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Cashier: Where are you going?

Movie Connections:

References Psycho (1960)

Soundtrack:

Inertia Creeps

undistinguished thriller

"Taking Lives" is a standard-issue, run-of-the-mill thriller about a serial killer and the FBI agent determined to capture him. When bodies start piling up in the Montreal area, the agent - an expert in serial killer profiling - is brought in to assist the local authorities in finding the culprit. The perpetrator's modus operandi is to target men roughly his own age and build, murder them in cold blood, then assume their identities. Once he grows tired of living their lives, he proceeds to his next victim. Ethan Hawke plays a man who's witnessed the most recent of the killings and who may now be next in line on the man's hit list.

"Taking Lives" sticks pretty much within the confines of its overworked genre. We have the disgruntled local cop who resents interference from a hotshot outsider; the prime suspect who turns out to be just another of the killer's many victims; and the double twist resolution which really isn't all that hard to see coming twenty minutes or so into the movie. Jolie gives her usual wooden performance as the FBI agent, barely managing to register a single convincing emotion throughout the course of the film. Hawke does his best with the material, though there really isn't much he can do with it apart from going through the motions, which he does reasonably well. Gena Rowlands and Keefer Sutherland are also on hand to lend their talents, but since their roles are fairly miniscule, they don't have much of a chance to display their wares as actors.

Although watchable, "Taking Lives" feels like a weak-spined, half-hearted effort in an already played-out genre. It is an instantly forgettable film.