Taking Lives Movie Review 2004

Illeana Scott (Jolie), a sexy FBI profiler with an affinity for the macabre, is called in by the Montreal police to use her "special" skills to track down a serial killer who assumes the identity of his victims. Since the heroine cannot be without a love interest, along comes art gallery owner James Costa (Hawke) who, naturally, is a witness...no, wait, he's a suspect...oh, now he's a target. Keep your scorecards handy, folks. Caruso strives to craftily overwhelm his audience with loads of gruesome gore, and perhaps if the plot weren't as mangled as the victims it would have succeeded. Sutherland does little more than play the convenient scapegoat while Rowlands masters the role of the alleged slayer's surly mother. Adapted from Michael Pye's novel where, interestingly, Jolie's character didn't exist.

Distribution

Warner Home Video, Inc., 5775 Linder Canyon Rd., Westlake Village, CA 91362, URL: http://whv.warnerbros.com, Remarks: Does not handle retail queries from consumers; contact your local video distributor.

Available on VHS, DVD
Running time 103 minutes.
Originally from United States.

Cast and Crew

Genres

Psycho-Thriller, Not-So-True Identity, FBI, Psychotics/Sociopaths, Crime Drama, Serial Killers, Adapted from a Story, Montreal, Canada

Screenplay

Jon Bokenkamp

Cast

Angelina Jolie, Ethan Hawke, Kiefer Sutherland, Gena Rowlands, Olivier Martinez, Tcheky Karyo, Jean-Hugues Anglade, Paul Franklin Dano, Justin Chatwin

Cinematography

Amir M. Mokri

Director

D.J. Caruso

Music

Philip Glass

Other

Claude La Haye, Anne Coates, Serge Bureau, Marie-Sylvie Deveau, Tom Southwell

Producer

Mark Canton, Bernie Goldman, Warner Bros.