Murder by Numbers (2002)

Sadly Over-hyped

This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Good plot, good cast, good location. I was expecting more character development throughout the movie, which ended like a Wes Craven's classic: bloody.

Okay, the ending really annoyed me, since, as stated, the ring could have been taken off, so how did Sandra come to her conclusion other than suddenly becoming psychic? Aside from that, this is not a horrible movie, and it would have been much more interesting with a couple of script revisions; a bit less emphasis on Sandra's character and a lot more on the boys, who did manage, even with the female love interest, to exhibit the requisite closeted leanings in this type of story that were more than hinted at in Compulsion and Rope, and even Strangers on a Train.I gave the movie a 6 rating simply because of Sandra's sudden ability to read Michael's mind at the end, but, overall it's not as horrible as other reviewers seem to think.

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.

Murder By Numbers has detectives Sandra Bullock and Ben Chaplin assigned to the murder of a young woman who was blitz attacked by an intruder in her home. Bullock gets the right scent on things, but the 'facts' keep getting in her way.This updating of the Leopold/Loeb story that has seen such films as Rope and Compulsion inspired by that famous true thrill kill story has as its protagonists Ryan Gosling and Michael Pitt. I think that the author gives us a big hint to the characters of these two right in the beginning when we see Pitt reading a paper he's written for a class about Nietschean superman philosophy and Gosling just pretending to be asleep in class.The homoerotic tension crackles off the scene with Gosling and Pitt. They are truly into each other until Agnes Bruckner enters their lives. After that it's every bisexual for himself.These two go far beyond Loeb and Leopold. Not only do they randomly pick some poor women for their kill experiment, but Pitt is a science wiz and he manufactures the forensic evidence that throws suspicion on Chris Penn the school janitor. Unfortunately Gosling really rubs her the wrong way when he's questioned. He's the kind of rich kid you love to take down.But speaking of rubbing the wrong way, Bullock is rubbing her own superiors just that way. Part of it is male chauvinism, part of it is they don't want to ruffle the feathers of Gosling's father who's the richest guy in town. Bullock and Gosling dominate the film. Her with her dogged determination to take down the rich kid and him with a terrifying charisma that just about everyone is taken with. Loeb and Leopold never had problems like these.