Review of Murder by Numbers (2002) by Jessica R — 07 Dec 2009

Smart. The film mixes murder with cleverness, which is a lethal mix, and it is executed greatly. It did got for an hour and fifty minutes, and it did somewhat leave the storyline several times, but it was definately an intriguing watch. I loved the back story of lead character Cassie, who was almost murdered in the past, before she became a homicide detective. That key element made the film that more realistic. While watching, you do sometimes get abit bored, but then as you think to quickly leave and then return, you stop because something just happened that made you keep watching. It manipulated the audience into thinking one thing, then at the end, the twist was another thing, even if it was only mild.

The premise is interesting, but the one thing I found confusing was the name of the movie, "Murder By Numbers". The film has nothing to do with numbers, not from what I gathered anyway. I thought the way the film was able to manipulate the audience with dialogue, and key scenes of sympathy was very unique, and gave a refreshing twist on things.

The acting was a highlight of the film. "Sandra Bullock" was the star, and was interesting to watch. Her character was complex, and I think she handled it nicely. "Ryan Gosling" and "Michael Pitt", who played the rich kids, were realistic, and pulled off their role mysteriously, which worked to the films advantage.

Overall "Murder By Numbers" is a unique, smart thriller, but you do need patience to find it watchable. My rating is 3/5.