...but director E. Elias Merhige decided to make it LOOOOOONGER with his latest effort, SUSPECT ZERO. Since I was bombarded incessantly by the ads for this movie on PPV Cable, I decided to check out the Official Website and to read some reviews here, spoilers-be-damned. Armed with a lot of foreknowledge, I settled back with my partner to watch it this past weekend.
Where I knew quite a bit about the story already, he knew nothing, and 45 minutes into it we BOTH were equally frustrated at its glacial pace. Deliberate pacing and attention to detail are what served Merhige well, with the under-appreciated SHADOW OF THE VAMPIRE. Here, it just gives you the impression that he's nearly breaking his arm patting himself on the back at the cleverness of the entire concept, as well as the admittedly top-notch work done here by veteran DOP Michael Chapman and production designer Ida Random.
Mind you, I am not the kind of viewer who needs to have every plot point spoon-fed to him or telegraphed well in advance, but it just seems like ZERO could have benefited greatly from some judicious editing.
Okay, okay, we get it: "remote viewing" is like peering at a glimpse of hell through a kaleidoscope, something that Ben Kingsley's character is unable to stop and that Aaron Eckhardt's disgraced agent is struggling to understand. But it seems like Merhige could've found a way to convey this with a lot less...excess.
The basic story: after botching the arrest of a known serial killer in a fit of righteous frustration, Tom Mackelway (the so-handsome-it-hurts Eckhardt) is banished to one of those mid-Western backwaters usually reserved for the likes of Fox Mulder. The relative boredom of existing in his desert exile doesn't last long, however, when he is assigned to investigate the puzzling murder of a traveling salesman. Reluctantly appointed to help him is his ex-partner and flame, Agent Fran Kulok (Carrie-Anne Moss, once again in kick-ass babe mode.)
In addition to clues left at the scene, Mackelway is receiving mysterious notes, faxes and other cryptic messages from someone who maybe the mythical rogue agent Benjamin O'Ryan (Ben Kingsley, in a performance that serves this material better than it deserves.) O'Ryan, is seems, was part of one of those ominous government experiments, (this one based on a real-life case). He was trained in the art of "remote viewing"--a process by which the mind is used as a receiver to pick up, process and record images sent from the minds of deranged criminals of all stripes, specifically serial killers.
O'Ryan also believed in the concept of an "uber-killer" he dubbed SUSPECT ZERO: a serial murderer who never set an established pattern or set of detectable rituals as part of his MO, and therefore could cross the country from coast-to-coast, killing at random and never run the risk of being caught.
Through his own bouts with headaches, bad dreams and flashes of unexplainable visions, Mackelway struggles to connect with O'Ryan through his own latent "viewing" talents, as the bodies and clues pile up. Is O'Ryan trying to enlist his help in catching Suspect Zero? Or having been driven mad by the ability that he can't turn off, has the shadowy lawman become the very thing he seeks to destroy?
As I mentioned before, the technical aspects of the film are damn near flawless, and the jittery, unwittingly alien feel of this dream world set within a nightmarish reality is conveyed extremely well. Eckhardt is one of our few gifted leading men with talent to burn--very much like Brad Pitt, a skilled actor trapped in a matinée idol's chiseled form. As for 'Sir' Ben, there are many actors who can play tortured and haunted, but his version is so unique, he should think about putting a patent on it. He's been exploring "the dark side of his acting force" a lot of late, and it suits him well.
Carrie-Anne Moss has proved that she's capable of handling meatier parts far beyond the archetypal Trinity in THE MATRIX trilogy, such as her role in Christopher Nolan's cult hit MEMENTO. Unfortunately, Fran Kulok is not one of them. Sort of a Dana Scully-knockoff, she does what she can with what the script gives her, and here's hoping that her next part provides her with a lot more.
There's a nice supporting cast, including the outstanding Harry Lennix as Mackelway's exasperated boss, an ever-emerging William Mapother (Tom Cruise's cousin) in a small role, and the uncredited Robert Towne as a shrink who spells out the fine details for Mackelway.
Other reviewers have given this a low score for the inherent ugliness of the subject matter. The world, as we are learning daily with each news report, is becoming an uglier place, so if you would rather not know about it, watch Disney movies.
The score I'm giving it is based strictly on execution (pardon the pun), and whether or not it was a good movie overall. For the performances of the two main leads, and some good creepy moments, (the one where O'Ryan catches a murderer 'in flagrante delicto' with a soon-to-be victim is a chiller all by itself) I'm giving it 7 out of 10. With a little more tightening up, it could've been a nine. Maybe next time, Mr. Merhige.
Where I knew quite a bit about the story already, he knew nothing, and 45 minutes into it we BOTH were equally frustrated at its glacial pace. Deliberate pacing and attention to detail are what served Merhige well, with the under-appreciated SHADOW OF THE VAMPIRE. Here, it just gives you the impression that he's nearly breaking his arm patting himself on the back at the cleverness of the entire concept, as well as the admittedly top-notch work done here by veteran DOP Michael Chapman and production designer Ida Random.
Mind you, I am not the kind of viewer who needs to have every plot point spoon-fed to him or telegraphed well in advance, but it just seems like ZERO could have benefited greatly from some judicious editing.
Okay, okay, we get it: "remote viewing" is like peering at a glimpse of hell through a kaleidoscope, something that Ben Kingsley's character is unable to stop and that Aaron Eckhardt's disgraced agent is struggling to understand. But it seems like Merhige could've found a way to convey this with a lot less...excess.
The basic story: after botching the arrest of a known serial killer in a fit of righteous frustration, Tom Mackelway (the so-handsome-it-hurts Eckhardt) is banished to one of those mid-Western backwaters usually reserved for the likes of Fox Mulder. The relative boredom of existing in his desert exile doesn't last long, however, when he is assigned to investigate the puzzling murder of a traveling salesman. Reluctantly appointed to help him is his ex-partner and flame, Agent Fran Kulok (Carrie-Anne Moss, once again in kick-ass babe mode.)
In addition to clues left at the scene, Mackelway is receiving mysterious notes, faxes and other cryptic messages from someone who maybe the mythical rogue agent Benjamin O'Ryan (Ben Kingsley, in a performance that serves this material better than it deserves.) O'Ryan, is seems, was part of one of those ominous government experiments, (this one based on a real-life case). He was trained in the art of "remote viewing"--a process by which the mind is used as a receiver to pick up, process and record images sent from the minds of deranged criminals of all stripes, specifically serial killers.
O'Ryan also believed in the concept of an "uber-killer" he dubbed SUSPECT ZERO: a serial murderer who never set an established pattern or set of detectable rituals as part of his MO, and therefore could cross the country from coast-to-coast, killing at random and never run the risk of being caught.
Through his own bouts with headaches, bad dreams and flashes of unexplainable visions, Mackelway struggles to connect with O'Ryan through his own latent "viewing" talents, as the bodies and clues pile up. Is O'Ryan trying to enlist his help in catching Suspect Zero? Or having been driven mad by the ability that he can't turn off, has the shadowy lawman become the very thing he seeks to destroy?
As I mentioned before, the technical aspects of the film are damn near flawless, and the jittery, unwittingly alien feel of this dream world set within a nightmarish reality is conveyed extremely well. Eckhardt is one of our few gifted leading men with talent to burn--very much like Brad Pitt, a skilled actor trapped in a matinée idol's chiseled form. As for 'Sir' Ben, there are many actors who can play tortured and haunted, but his version is so unique, he should think about putting a patent on it. He's been exploring "the dark side of his acting force" a lot of late, and it suits him well.
Carrie-Anne Moss has proved that she's capable of handling meatier parts far beyond the archetypal Trinity in THE MATRIX trilogy, such as her role in Christopher Nolan's cult hit MEMENTO. Unfortunately, Fran Kulok is not one of them. Sort of a Dana Scully-knockoff, she does what she can with what the script gives her, and here's hoping that her next part provides her with a lot more.
There's a nice supporting cast, including the outstanding Harry Lennix as Mackelway's exasperated boss, an ever-emerging William Mapother (Tom Cruise's cousin) in a small role, and the uncredited Robert Towne as a shrink who spells out the fine details for Mackelway.
Other reviewers have given this a low score for the inherent ugliness of the subject matter. The world, as we are learning daily with each news report, is becoming an uglier place, so if you would rather not know about it, watch Disney movies.
The score I'm giving it is based strictly on execution (pardon the pun), and whether or not it was a good movie overall. For the performances of the two main leads, and some good creepy moments, (the one where O'Ryan catches a murderer 'in flagrante delicto' with a soon-to-be victim is a chiller all by itself) I'm giving it 7 out of 10. With a little more tightening up, it could've been a nine. Maybe next time, Mr. Merhige.