April 2, 2004 -- “Taking Lives” is a movie about an unorthodox cop chasing an elusive serial killer. It falls squarely in the tradition of movies like “Along Came a Spider,” “Kiss the Girls” and “Angel Eyes.” There are a few twists here, but no real surprises. Still, it is a solid police thriller with a few scares and some plot twists. The acting and directing are competent as well.

Angelina Jolie (“Lara Croft: Tomb Raider”) stars as Illeana, an unorthodox FBI agent called in to help with an investigation into a series of brutal murders in Montreal, Canada. Ethan Hawke of “Training Day” stars as James Costa, an early suspect in one of the murders, who later is enlisted to help police nab another suspect named Hart (played by Kiefer Sutherland of “Phone Booth”). Costa is dangled as bait for Hart, who is thought to be the real killer. Hart is thought to be Martin Asher, a man who steals the identity of others. Long believed dead, Martin is spotted by his mother, Rebecca (played by renowned actress Gena Rowlands of “The Mighty”), and police begin to think he may be a suspect in a long line of murders dating back 20 years. Martin is thought to be a unique serial killer, murdering people and then taking over their identities for a short time, before moving to the next victim and identity.

The movie does a pretty good job explaining how the killer is able to keep killing people without being caught, and how he is able to take over the identities of other people without being detected. However, this seems like the kind of criminal career that would be very hard to sustain. All it would take is one person who recognizes you, either the for person you are, or for the person you are not, and your career is in big trouble. This is, indeed what happens to the killer in the film. I've never heard of anyone actually doing this for real. I can see why it is in the movie. It is a unique idea and movie studios and publishers are always looking for something different in murder mysteries (the movie is based on a novel by Michael Pye). The movie was shot in Montreal and Quebec and it features a lot of dialogue in French with subtitles, giving the film a European feel.

The movie throws in the usual suspects, showing us some false clues to keep us off balance. The list of suspects is so short, however, there is not much surprise when he is finally revealed late in the film. There are a few nice twists and a couple of scary moments, however. The story is interesting and involving and the characters are compelling. The pace of the movie is fast enough that it held my attention throughout. Jolie is very effective as the FBI agent. There is also a very hot sex scene between her and Hawke with partial nudity that adds some spice to the film. Hawke's character is perhaps the most interesting in the film. He is truly multi-faceted. Sutherland is quite menacing in the film, something he does exceptionally well. Also good are the cops working the case, Paquette (Olivier Martinez of “S.W.A.T.”), Leclair (Tchéky Karyo of “The Core”) and Duval (Jean-Hugues Anglade of “Killing Zoe”). This film rates a C+.

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Copyright © 2004 Robert Roten. All rights reserved.
Reproduced with the permission of the copyright holder.

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