Murder by Numbers (2002)

Just perfect...

Absolutely Brilliant!

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties. It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

This could have been very good. Good actors, an exciting plot, quite uorginal script etc etc. The movie also starts well. Two students with sociopathic characters agree to commit the perfect murder. They then conduct a killing and the investigation is under way. All of this is presented to us. To make the film work after this, we depend on a good direction and surprises. This does not happen. However a lot of unlikely, silly things happen. We are being presented to an investigator who suddenly has major social problems, without this having any significance or adding anything to the film. There are also strange things, such as the investigator taking revealing pictures of the suspects, and then being harassed by one of them. Something that results in some kind of breakdown. Very strange. When this happens in the movie, I lose the last lasting interest. Too bad. A lost opportunity. A better script would certainly have helped

'All real freedom risks crime. Indeed, freedom *is* crime, because it thinks first of itself and not of the group.' Intellectually challenging mysteries such as MURDER BY NUMBERS as written by Tony Gayton and directed with great skill by Persian director Barbet Schroeder are such a fulfilling evening of theater, especially when the story includes philosophy, the psychology of injured minds from past abuse, and the clever means of a planned murder! This picture from 2002 continues to satisfy on every level - especially with the superb performances by Sandra Bullock, Ben Chaplin, Ryan Gosling, Michael Pitt an done of the better supporting casts assembled by casting director Howard Feuer.In a strange little coastal town in California Richard Haywood (Ryan Gosling9, a handsome, wealthy high school cool kid, secretly teams up with another rich kid in his class, brilliant nerd Justin 'Bonaparte' Pendleton (Michael Pitt), whose erudition, specially in forensic matters, allows them to plan elaborately perfect murders, just for the kick, for which they set up Richard's marijuana supplier, their school's janitor Ray Feathers, as a psychotic serial killer. The case is assigned to detectives Cassie 'the hyena' Mayweather (Sandra Bullock), a crime scene specialist who carries a huge chip on the shoulder from an abusive relationship that has haunted her for years, and her brilliant new partner, Sam Kennedy (Ben Chaplin), who just transferred from the vice squad; they can work together very well, and even fit romantically, but fall out over different professional attitudes towards the investigation, which Captain Rod Cody (R.D. Call) and her understandably vindictive abused ex, Assistant D.A. Al Swanson (Tom Verica), soon ban her from when she disobeys instructions and hand to him. When the plotting boys both attempt to attract classmate Lisa Mills (Agnes Bruckner), their unnatural bond comes under stress - and the manner in which the relationship crumbles and further deaths occur makes for a spine-tingling end.The musical score by Clint Mansell and the cinematography by Luciano Tovoli enhance the mood of the film, but in the end it is a solid story acted by a very polished cast that makes this one of those 'must see again' type films.

A random murder, a secret friendship and a detective with an attitude problem are just three of the interesting ingredients of this absorbing psychological thriller. "Murder By Numbers" entertains and intrigues its audience, not by posing the question "who did it?" but instead by following the progress of a detective's search for the evidence she needs to support her theory about who was responsible for committing a brutal murder. The fact that her task is made more difficult by her personal demons, her clever adversaries and obstacles created by her superiors, only makes things more difficult and adds to the story's already tense atmosphere.Richard Haywood (Ryan Gosling) and Justin Pendleton (Michael Pitt) are a couple of high school seniors who, despite their very different personalities, are secretly close friends. They meet regularly at a deserted house overlooking the ocean, drink absinthe and are excited by the idea of carrying out the perfect murder as a means of proving their superiority over the police. They're both from rich families, very bright but also bored and the closeness of their bond is symbolised by the presence of a photograph which is actually a composite of photos of both of them.By having no apparent relationship with each other, selecting a random victim and planting misleading evidence at the site where the body's found, Richard and Justin succeed in concealing their own connection with the murder of a young woman and also ensure that the school janitor, Ray Feathers (Chris Penn) appears to be the culprit. Richard subsequently shoots the janitor in a manner that makes it appear that Feathers had, in fact, committed suicide.Experienced homicide detective Cassie Mayweather (Sandra Bullock) is assigned to the case together with her new partner, Sam Kennedy (Ben Chaplin). When her investigation brings her into contact with Richard, her instincts immediately tell her that there's something suspicious about him but she's prevented from pursuing her interest in his connection with the crime by the intervention of Captain Rod Cody (R.D. Call) who takes her off the case.Cassie's a troubled character who still bears the physical and psychological scars of a traumatic incident in her past and tries to find solace in casual sex, drinking alone and listening to Sheryl Crow songs on her houseboat. She has an unpleasant personality, a reputation for being difficult to work with and a history of not following the rules and so her determination to follow her instincts and ignore the instructions of her superiors is regarded as reprehensible by everyone involved, including her partner. Soon after, however, Cassie sees Richard and Justin together and becomes even more convinced that she's on the right track.The two detectives in "Murder By Numbers" are so different from each other that they make an uncomfortable partnership. From the dramatic standpoint however, their juxtaposition is very effective in highlighting how mismatched they are. Sam Kennedy is a decent guy who's well-trained and methodical but also too inexperienced to have developed the instincts that Cassie possesses or to have acquired the kind of insight that enables an investigator to see beyond what the evidence superficially seems to show. Ben Chaplin and Sandra Bullock both make their characters believable and their interactions are important to the development of the story. Inevitably though, it's the performances of Ryan Gosling and Michael Pitt that stand out most as they make their characters both fascinating and disturbing and show convincingly how Richard and Julian's personalities complement each other.Justin is the movie's most interesting character because his brilliance enabled him to acquire the expert knowledge of forensics and police profiling which was vital for attempting to carry out the perfect murder and also his preoccupation with Nietzsche's doctrine of the superman was a key component of the motivation for the crime."Murder By Numbers" is strong on atmosphere, rich in complex characters and entertaining in the way in which the investigation of the murder develops.

An inferior and overlong film based on the Leopold/Loeb case, made famous by Hitchcock in his movie, Rope.Director Barbet Schroeder disappoints with the thrills and with some horrid CGI. Sandra Bullock is the tough, no nonsense cop out to get the killers but she has her own demons to fight.Ryan Gosling and Michael Pitt play the intellectual types showing their mental superiority in planning the perfect murder but still come across as high school spoilt rich kids, even though one is a geek and the other is a brat.Young Gosling shows early promise, Bullock is convincing in a straight dramatic role but the film is dull and a let down with some poor writing and plot points. How did Gosling guess Bullock was following him? Who leaked the information that the kids were being interrogated?