Posted: 03/21/2004

Taking Lives

(2004)

by Hank Yuloff

A successful FBI profiler is summoned to help Montreal law enforcement hunt down a serial killer who assumes the lives and identities of his victions as he travels across North America.

For a guy who has directed mostly episodic television, D.J. Caruso sure knows how to use the big screen when he gets the chance. His latest, Taking Lives, is a visually exciting thriller that fights through some plot holes to make an enjoyable “who’s the real killer” mystery.

The photographic beauty begins in the 1983 prologue to the film when we see a young Martin Asher kill the first of what would be close to a dozen men so that he can, like a chameleon, take over their lives in order to escape his own.After some very artistic opening credits (they need to move a little slower for most readers) we are brought to present day when a body is found at a construction site. The French Canadian police chief calls suspects a serial killer and calls in a friend from the FBI for help in profiling the killer.

From there, FBI special agent Illeana Scott (Angelina Jolie), and FCP officers Paquette (Olivier Martinez from Unfaithful) and Leclair (Tcheky Karyo—The Core, La Femme Nikita) track down Asher, who appears to be after a local art dealer who witnessed the last murder.

I was not impressed with the actual killer—the three of us kind of figured it out pretty early but it was a good trip to take and the aforementioned photography made it worth the trip to the multiplex. The epilogue was similarly predictable and I am not all that sure the last 10 minutes are needed in the film.Truth be told, if I had not just seen Twisted a few weeks ago this film might have rated a little lower but compared to Twisted, this movie is Se7en!

The acting is believable if not incredible. Jolie’s looks (and yes, there is a topless scene) always help since she is so easy on the eyes. Martinez and Karyo could be replaced without missing anything. Ethan Hawke (Training Day, Explorers) is wonderful as the art dealer/witness. We also see Kiefer Sutherland, who seems to be taking a day off from 24 but remains in the same kind of character as Jack Bauer.

If you don’t go to the box-office for Taking Lives, you should definitely put it on your to be rented list—an enjoyable mystery where you can figure out who the bad guy is fooling.

Hank Yuloff is a reviewer in L.A. who takes a good long look at Jolie every morning on the Lara Croft poster in his office.

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