Review of Like Minds (2006) by Steph O — 12 Oct 2010

A UK-Australia co-production, about a psychologist (Toni Collette) trying to figure out whether or not a young man is guilty of murder. It stars Eddie Redmayne and Tom Sturridge - which I'll admit is what made me want to see it. I love them both. Especially Redmayne. He's so interesting. And creepy... but in a good way. That's how I'd describe this movie too actually. Interesting. Creepy... but in a good way.

Both Alex (Redmayne) and Nigel (Sturridge) are creepy as hell. Nigel is obsessed with death, and sits around dissecting animals for no particular reason. He also seems to know things about Alex that he couldn't possibly know. And Alex... well Alex may or may not be a murderer. They're really interesting characters, and I think that's why "Like Minds" itself is so interesting. The direction was great too. Some really spooky shots of the boys' school and such.

I never really bought the Toni Collette character though. She isn't great in this. She's okay, but not great. Her accent DOES stick more than Richard Roxburgh's. Eddie Redmayne... is seriously brilliant. He should get way more major roles than he does. "Like Minds" really is closer to horror than thriller and it creeped me out something chronic. I never thought Tom Sturridge would scare me, but he does in this. "Like Minds" is really quite dark and twisted, especially in the second half of the movie. In this case that's a good thing though. This movie was completely not what I expected. Taking a look at the basic premise, you'd think "Like Minds" would be some kind of legal drama or your average thriller - but you'd be wrong.