The entire film comes across like a fan of James Patterson and Law & Order: SVU watched a John Douglas interview and thought, "I can write a screenplay about profiling!" But not just any cat and mouse, "on the trail of a serial killer" story! No, this one will have dialogue with the confidence and uncomfortable mellow-drama of a slam poetry reading.
I can suspend disbelief with films. If it's engaging and feels earnest, I can enjoy it, even if it strays outside of "realistic." This movie and its primary characters, are absurd. Apparently the FBI is filled with hapless, knee jerk egomaniacs that don't think before they act or bother to thoroughly investigate a suspect. Oh, of course, except the philosophical lone wolf agent who could easily crack the case on his own, but for goodwill and a lark, enlists the help of a suicidal, mentally ill beat cop who was denied entry to the bureau years ago despite her uncanny, stellar insights into the mind of killers. She has an eye for them because she, too, is tortured!!! Big ol' booooo!!! I wonder how many FBI agents wax philosophic while sipping coffee and then subvert the cliched movie trope of telling the local authorities to "stand down", by doing open mic night/motivational speaking in a quiet room of eighty cops. I can see the writer fist pumping and cracking his knuckles after that one.
Everything about it smells like contemporary studio films with a checklist of disingenuous, forced archetypes (both "good guys" and "bad guys") and producer notes. Like, can we get some high fives for *insert gender, race, sexual orientation, possible mental afflictions, political affiliation, etc*?
Also, I get tax incentives, and movies are very expensive, but Baltimore by way of Canada, including Montreal accents? I gotta have at least one character that sounds like they're in a John Waters movie.
And the runtime. Come on. Wrap this up in 1:40:00 and then shave off another ten.
I can suspend disbelief with films. If it's engaging and feels earnest, I can enjoy it, even if it strays outside of "realistic." This movie and its primary characters, are absurd. Apparently the FBI is filled with hapless, knee jerk egomaniacs that don't think before they act or bother to thoroughly investigate a suspect. Oh, of course, except the philosophical lone wolf agent who could easily crack the case on his own, but for goodwill and a lark, enlists the help of a suicidal, mentally ill beat cop who was denied entry to the bureau years ago despite her uncanny, stellar insights into the mind of killers. She has an eye for them because she, too, is tortured!!! Big ol' booooo!!! I wonder how many FBI agents wax philosophic while sipping coffee and then subvert the cliched movie trope of telling the local authorities to "stand down", by doing open mic night/motivational speaking in a quiet room of eighty cops. I can see the writer fist pumping and cracking his knuckles after that one.
Everything about it smells like contemporary studio films with a checklist of disingenuous, forced archetypes (both "good guys" and "bad guys") and producer notes. Like, can we get some high fives for *insert gender, race, sexual orientation, possible mental afflictions, political affiliation, etc*?
Also, I get tax incentives, and movies are very expensive, but Baltimore by way of Canada, including Montreal accents? I gotta have at least one character that sounds like they're in a John Waters movie.
And the runtime. Come on. Wrap this up in 1:40:00 and then shave off another ten.