Deceiver Movie Review 1997

Contrived psychological thriller starts out with the requisite dead prostitute (Zellwegger, in a questionable career move) and the rounding up of the usual suspects, settling on disturbed but brainy Princeton grad Wayland (indie film icon Roth). Wayland uses his superior I.Q. and penchant for mind games to send head detectives Kennesaw and Braxton (Rooker and Penn) into a tailspin of deceit and lies, turning the investigation around on the gritty cops. Flashy camera work only adds to the tangled mayhem. Fine performances from talented cast bring this up a notch. Twin directors Jonas and Joshua Pate's convoluted spin on a noirish murder mystery follows up their 1996 debut, "Grave."

Distribution

MGM Home Entertainment, 2500 Broadway, Santa Monica, CA 90404-6061, Phone: (310)449-3000, Fax: (310)449-3100, URL: http://www.mgmhomevideo.com, Remarks: Does not handle retail queries from consumers; contact your local video distributor.

Available on VHS, DVD
Running time 102 minutes.

Cast and Crew

Genres

Psycho-Thriller, Contemporary Noir, Cops, Oldest Profession, The 3rd Degree

Screenplay

Jonas Pate, Josh Pate

Cast

Renee Zellweger, Tim Roth, Christopher Penn, Michael Rooker, Ellen Burstyn, Rosanna Arquette

Cinematography

Bill Butler

Director

Jonas Pate, Josh Pate

Music

Harry Gregson-Williams