Taking Lives  (2004)

Starring: Angelina Jolie, Ethan Hawke, Kiefer Sutherland
Director: D.J. Caruso

Rating: R

Studio: Warner Bros.

Release Date: 03.19.04

Review Posted: 03.26.04

Spoilers: Major!

By Rachel Sexton

Hawke is Draw in Decent Thriller

First, I should warn that there are spoilers in this review. If you don’t want to know anything about the film before seeing it, stop reading now. Okay. Following Johnny Depp in Secret Window, Ethan Hawke also goes bad in this film and he does it well. Does this signify a trend in Hollywood? We’ll have to see. Ethan Hawke stands out in the dramatic and at times scary thriller Taking Lives, though it has flaws.

Taking Lives details the hunt to catch serial killer Martin Asher after a dead body is discovered in Montreal. FBI Special Agent Illeana Scott (Angelina Jolie) is pulled in to help. Soon, another man is killed, but this time, there is a witness, James Costa (Hawke). After being drawn toward one suspect, Scott chillingly finds out that Costa is actually Asher. He eludes police but Scott engineers a deadly showdown.

I told you there would be spoilers, so now I want to talk about what audiences will perceive as the big plot twist of the film: that Costa is Asher. Kiefer Sutherland is given a brief role, akin to his turn in Phone Booth, that serves as the distraction for the viewer. The trailers even point you in that direction, but having seen so many films, thrillers nowadays seem to be lawfully required to include a big finale plot twist. From first seeing the trailers, I thought of this and it occurred to me “Watch it actually be Ethan Hawke who’s the killer.” Perhaps its just me, but I found this more predictable than, say, Secret Window.

On the other hand, though, the script here is not without some highlights. The plot points are well done, especially keeping audience interest after the reveal of Costa as Asher. The opening scene is genuinely frightening as a 16-year-old Asher meets, then kills another guy, and there are some other good touches. For instance, Oliver Martinez plays a Montreal cop who’s a bit of a jerk but satisfyingly ambiguous. The ending is also successful. A couple of other good scares happen, too, but for the most part, the film is not bad and not exceptional.

Similarly, director D.J. Caruso doesn’t show off or really make conspicuous choices to show his talent. Except maybe the shot that begins the film, which is the young Asher reflected in a surveillance mirror. The style is straightforward but a little average. Philip Glass’ music works and the costuming is fine. I really like the titles. Some of the best title sequences are in thrillers.

The real standout of this film is probably the performances. To repeat, Hawke is great and I always thought he should have had a higher-profile career. Jolie is also solid and I like Martinez, too. It is also very good to see Gena Rowlands as Asher’s mother. When legends are on screen, its always nice to sit back comfortably, knowing the acting is in good hands.

Continuing a bad-guy trend for leading men, Ethan Hawke shows I\his murderous side in the decent thriller Taking Lives. Though there are better thrillers, this film is not a bad way to spend a couple of hours, mostly because f the acting.

Film Rating: êêê1/2  (out of 5)

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