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Movie Forums :: Reviews :: Taking Lives Tests Patience |
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Posted on 3/14/04
Taking Lives Tests Patience
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Films about serial killers (which nearly comprise their own genre at this point) are getting a little stale. The only way such a film can entertain the seasoned moviegoer is by injecting a fresh angle or motive (Se7en is the prime example). Taking Lives has such an angle, but gives it away in both the previews, and the title itself.
As you're no doubt aware of already, the film's killer makes his way through life (surprise!) "taking lives." That is, he kills people, and effectively steals their identity for a time, before moving onto the next mark and repeating the process.
This is a fine concept, but is glossed over as if it were inconsequential. Illeana, an FBI agent played by Angelina Jolie -- who does a decent job, despite not being given much to work with -- discerns this motive (which those of us who've seen the film's trailer have known all along) without fanfare or surprise. The one thing that potentially sets the film apart from others of its kind is treated as ho-hum.
This is due in part to the fact that the revelation has no weight: it doesn't do a whole lot to aid her in tracking him down. Typically in such crime dramas, finding the link between the victims is the key to finding the killer. In this film, it doesn't help much. It's as if it only exists to give the film an appropriate title.
Not satisfied with this, Taking Lives also insists on piling twist upon twist, in an effort to keep things fresh. This is ultimately the film's downfall, as veterans of the serial killer genre should be able to predict the film's biggest shocker at about the same time I did (15 minutes in).
In a bit of semantic irony, the cinematography (which is both creative and well-executed) is the one truly bright spot in a perpetually dark movie. And not dark in a purely figurative sense; none of the characters seem to have enough sense to flick the lights on. Furthermore, the film's pacing seems to fall off its axis right about the time its big surprise is unveiled. From that point on, characters act in ways we wouldn't expect, and the film takes a few bizarre turns. This is especially true near the end, when we're made to feel nervous, then aghast, then horrified, and then stunned.
While the finale in Se7en (a film all serial killer dramas will forever be compared to) left audiences feeling as if they'd been outsmarted, Taking Lives' ending will likely leave them feeling as if they've fallen victim to an exploited loophole.
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