The Watcher (2000)

To me, this movie is perfection.

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

(Originally reviewed: The fatal flaw with Joe Charbanic's The Watcher is the miscasting of Keanu Reeves as the killer. Considering the word of mouth, I was expecting a dreadful slasher films, what I got instead was a poor, laughable film. James Spader plays the lead character, it takes a while for the story to tell us he's a detective and why he's taking all these medications but it does eventually get to it. Reeves is the psychopathic killer and an ineffective one at that, his prancing around, unthreatening expressions and constantly wanting to dance like a fairy make him one of the most laughable serial killer's I've ever seen, though not entirely Reeves fault, simply miscasting by the director. The adorable Marisa Tomei also stars as a psychiatrist and turns in a good performance as usual. Though the plot falters a lot, and is overall poor, I have seen a lot worse films like this and a lot better.On to some things that bothered me such as the female characters mostly being void of common sense, for example why would a woman at work think it's not unusual for some guy to randomly start photographing her in an environment that just so happens to be mostly empty. Insensitive dialogue also follows later on with "apparently she has a cat named frank who doesn't watch the news" after the second victim is killed, that line is said by Spader's character and it's not funny, and said in bad taste. Another lame piece of dialogue appears later on where Reeve's says "were Yin and Yang" to spader which is fairly funny (Unintentionally) but only further diminishes the picture on being taken seriously. The biggest surprise comes towards the end, when Reeves is about to strangle his last victim, only for Spader who's being held at gunpoint to randomly say Thank you for no reason and Reeves stops strangling her and puts his head near Spader who stabs him somewhere in the arm, (unclear directing) and the building then ends up on fire, and so on, you can probably guess what happens next. I almost forgot to mention the messy opening credit's which were all over the place. Overall though, this picture is badly directed, laughable at times and suffers fatally from Keanu Reeves's unmenacing, dancing ballerina portrayal of a serial killer.

**THIS REVIEW COULD CONTAIN A LOT OF SPOILERS. IF THE READER DOESN'T WANT THE FILM POSSIBLY SPOILED FOR THEM, I SUGGEST VIEWING THE FILM FIRST.**First off, Keanu (David) is a serial killer who decides to kill the girlfriend of this current FBI agent, who was married to another man. The serial killer is really good at setting up booby traps, so I noticed in the movie anyway. When the woman is left home alone, the detective comes over to visit her, to find out she's tied up to a chair in the house. He sees Keanu run out the back, and decides to chase him. Little does this "FBI agent" know that there was some kind of rig he had set up, that burnt the lady to a charred leafy crisp a short time after he kicked in the door to the house. This kind of pulled me into the movie a little bit. It got me connected to the detective's character more, but boy was it a depressing connection.Without giving too much away, and spoiling the film entirely, we'll just say the former FBI agent returns to the force as a detective for the Chicago police. He's all drugged up on medications for psychosis (due to guilt of getting that lady killed), migraines, and diabetes. He's just a complete wreck, until his therapist turns his confidence around. The movie is a game of cat and mouse from there. There's a few good killing scenes. It's really suspenseful as well. All-in-all, I think the acting was good, the script was okay (could've been better), and the dialog was good. I would recommend this movie for those who like police mystery/suspense movies for a one time watch.

The first thing to note, importantly, is that the victims are not sexually assaulted in any way ("no touchy no feely"). This film doesn't rely on gratuitous uncomfortable and horrific ordeals to notch up the fear-factor despite Griffin (Reeves) being a prolific serial killer - unusually the murdered girls are more or less incidental and his particular interest in what he does is never disclosed. You do feel the tension, and it is a gripping and tense thriller, where less is more for the nasty bits. The plot centres around the sadomasochistic reliance between the serial killer and the cop Campbell (Spader). For Campbell, the fallout from chasing Griffin, and giving up and moving away, has ruined his life so completely that rather than Griffin being his raison d'etre, he is all he has been left with; his hatred, guilt, insomnia, night terrors and prescription drug dependency for debilitating migraines keep Griffin in the centre of his world albeit unwelcome and from which he is unable to escape. Conversely, Griffin's psychopathology for some reason has evolved to require Campbell as an addition to his efficient killing theatre; he doesn't seem afraid of being caught, and takes increasing risks for proximity with Campbell. The psychology here would be interesting, but it is glossed over other than brief mentions of past events (ie the involvement of Campbell's girlfriend) and Campbell's Psychiatrist Polly (Marisa Tomei) falls into the Hollywood trap of limiting "psychology/psychiatry" to clichéd questions which shed little light. Despite her implausibility but predictable involvement, it is she who voices that they need each other – Griffin describes Campbell as his best friend and brother, and alludes to deeper significance between them and it is a lack of a clear explanation that I feel is the gaping hole in the plot but the film works well without it, it's just ME who's interested in forensic psychology and wants to know why. Marisa Tomei's performance is good but the screenplay limits her potential, and Spader and Reeves overshadow her. Spader is one of my favourite actors, he is terribly underrated and, like Reeves, his screen presence and acting method lies in the minutiae of a performance and Spader shines as broken, exhausted and desperate and it is unusual for him to be in an action role. Reeves is charming, friendly, a little flirtatious to be beguiling as Griffin, and as dangerous as a smiling crocodile. Unlike most cop dramas roles are reversed, Reeves is both beautiful and hideous in his portrayal, remarkably well adjusted and secure and Spader is the addled victim in free-fall. The clock is constantly ticking, and it's tense watching the police desperate to win, and always they are so agonisingly close - which the audience sees but the characters can't, which is clever. The cinematography is a melange of styles and devices to narrate the story - dream-sequences that tell back-story that are repeated with increasing revelation, blurred images, romantic bright montages, slow-motion, staccato frames, and grainy black and white and heavy breathing heard over the soundtrack – none are original but are used here in abundance and confusing. The music too is controversial and sometimes incongruous, yet again, and as the viewer you are very aware that all these are being used deliberately and they seem too contrived but I'm not sure whether they are successful – I quite liked them but some saw them as amateurish. The film sets up its predictability, but then in a cop vs killer film there is little that can be truly original. It is a rather satisfying film, but perhaps the Director was trying too hard by over-reaching with a mediocre screenplay or by overuse of too many styles and not having the gumption to know whether they were doing drama, thriller, chiller, action film or even a dark comedy as there was some humour (especially Chris Ellis as other cop Hollis) in there. It seems to flail a bit, and reaches too far and misses to be excellent. It's a good film but the performances of Spader and Reeves hold its head above water.

Directed by Joe Charbanic, this movie's screenplay written by David Elliot provides a solid platform for Keanu Reeves to shine. The story concerns a burned out F.B.I. agent (James Spader) who seeks refuge in Chicago when he fails to apprehend Griffen (Keanu Reeves) a demented serial killer. Unfortunately, the ghostly murderer follows him to the windy city and once again begins killing women. Barely existing in between his nightmares and his medication, Dectective Campbell is drawn back into the dark demented world of his elusive suspect, when he seeks help to understand his mental anxieties. With the help of Chicago police detectives, (Ernie Hudson) the game of death takes on a double urgency when the killer begins sending photos of his intended victim 24 hours prior to murdering them. Difficult as it is, audience members must get past the fact that Reeves usually plays the hero, but here he is the heavy. Reeves is a superior actor and is convincing as he plays against Spader. Both are superior thespians who allow this black drama to rise above the mundane to entertain us with exciting car chase scenes and murderous mayhem. Marisa Tomei plays Polly a mental health therapist who finds herself a potential victim. This is a special film in many respects, the most important being that our cast does well to mark this movie as a milestone for Reeves and Spader. Recommended. ****