April 19, 2002

by Veronica Mixon

This psychological drama, Murder By Numbers focusing on a Leopold and Loeb type duo that randomly murders a woman and then tangle with the female homicide detective in charge of the case is far too familiar to be really tantalizing. Sandra Bullock stars as Cassie Mayweather, a cop with a troubled pass who is working with a brand new partner, Sam Kennedy (Ben Chaplin). Cassie's expertise with forensic evidence peeks the interest of the two idle high school students who bond over murder. She notices that the clues aren't messy like murder usually is but almost staged. It doesn't take the police long to discover the possible involvement of Justin Pendleton (Michael Pitt) and Richard Haywood (Ryan Gosling).

Justin is a wealthy, introvert who attracts the attention of a female student, Lisa (Agnes Bruckner) just as he and Richard are about to pick a victim. His adolescent attraction incenses Richard, who is more popular and attractive to all the kids at school. When they meet in a deserted dilapidated house, the two imagine themselves as one person. A girl - even one who adores Justin - would disturb their plans. Although the two are close, their psychological faults are muddied by the filmmaker's misdirection. They touch intimately but clearly there is no underlying homosexuality lurking in the shadows. They are both boys with little parental involvement or control, too much time on their and too money for their own good.

While the killers' emotional baggage is unclear, Cassie Mayweather's turmoil is not and this is the best part of the film. The mystery is routine and boring especially since you know who the killers are from the beginning. But Cassie's demons and the way they are presented are intriguing and captivating. Director Barbet Schroeder, who directed one of my favorite films, "Single White Female," has picked up that mantle - as far as Sandra Bullock's character is concerned.

Cassie has a terrible reputation among the cops and Sam Kennedy (Chaplin) is warned early on. Yet, he sleeps with Cassie and then he's tossed aside like soiled laundry. But, he doesn't just get mad. Sam questions Cassie about her behavior and of course she ignores him. However, in a brilliant stroke of writing, Cassie's most sober moment about her own traumatic emotional baggage comes from the most unlikely source - one of the killers!

As I watched Murder By Numbers, I wished that the film centered on Cassie and her problems rather than a mundane murder that's laid out like a movie of week television drama. Sandra Bullock is OK and Ben Chaplin, who has starred with Nicole Kidman in The Birthday Girl and Winona Ryder in The Lost Souls, is nice, too. Clearly, Chaplin can hold his own opposite his more famous leading ladies.

But, it's the two young men who stand out. Michael Pitt was last seen on TV's Dawson's Creek and in Hedwick and the Angry Inch. Ryan Gosling has received good press about his upcoming Showtime movie, The Believer. While Pitt is soft and dreamy, Gosling is intense and sexy.