The combination of Sandra Bullock's best dramatic performance to date and the intelligent direction of Barbet Schroeder (Reversal of Fortune, Single White Female) are almost enough to lift this thrill-kill cat-and-mouser above its paint-by-numbers plot about cunning teenage sociopaths taunting the cops with their crime. On one side we have Bullock as a hard-headed homicide detective who still bears the physical and emotional scars of her battered-wife past, while on the other we have the Leopold and Loeb-like killers (Ryan Gosling and Michael Pitt), who are intelligent, troubled and knowledgeable about forensic techniques, allowing them to carefully plant misleading evidence. Unfortunately, Murder by Numbers follows standard thriller formula to a fault before nose-diving into its semi-twist finale, which is so hackneyed, predictable, and badly blue-screened, that even Bullock can't save it. Optional. [Note: DVD extras include brief cast and crew filmographies, audio commentary by director-producer Barbet Schroeder and editor Lee Percy, and a trailer. Bottom line: a skimpy extras package for a so-so thriller.] (R. Blackwelder)
Murder by Numbers
Warner, 112 min., R, VHS: $39.99, DVD: $29.99, Sept. 17 Volume 17, Issue 5
Murder by Numbers
Star Ratings
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