Saturday Night Retro Movie Review: The Bone Collector
July 10th 2010 12:08
The Bone Collector
Released in 1999, this suspense drama starring two time Academy Award Winner Denzel Washington, and Academy Award Winner Angelina Jolie is a film that captures your attention frrom the very beginning and doesn't let go until the final scene.
Crippled in an accident, Lincoln Rhyme (Washington) lies in bed, waiting for his life to end, when an old police friend Paulie Selitto (Ed O'Neil) comes knocking, asking for assistance on the murder of a high flying New York Socialite and the kidnapping of his wife.
A young policewoman, Amelia Donaghy (Jolie) was the first to respond to the crime scene, and using initiative and intelligence managed to protect crucial evidence from being destroyed that had been laid out for the police. By capturing the evidence, she captures Rhyme's attention and he demands that she help out on the case.
As the two work together to solve the riddles left at each murder scene, they grow closer to each other, both recognising in the other the injured part of themselves.
The climax of the film, is bloody and suspenseful, although the announcement of the who the killer was left me a little cold. Watching a murder mystery/suspense thriller like this one, you look out for clues during the film that might point to the killer, and in this film, the clues just aren't there.
Amelia and Ryhmes
This Philip Noyce director suspense thriller packs a lot into a very fast paced film. Written by Jeremy Lacone and based of the bestselling Jeffrey Deaver novel of the same name, The Bone Collector is an excellent choice for a Saturday movie.
The movie is set in New York City and the city itself is almost as much a character as any one else. Fast paced action, mixed with scenes of slowly building suspense take the audience on a roller coaster ride that keeps them holding their breath.
The supporting cast in this film is excellent, and Queen Latifah in the role of Ryhme's live in nurse Thelma is really enjoyable. If I was to pick fault with this film at all it would be in the under development of most of the supporting characters. Most of the actors do the best they can with their cardboard cut out roles, and I felt that Mike McGlone as the young Detective Solomon was very much under utilised. Captian Howard Cheney (Michael Rooker) the man who took over from Ryhme's after his accident was another character that felt tacked into the storyline and was - I felt - very much the cliche.
All in all The Bone Collector is an excellent film. Both the films leads have the charisma and talent to pull their roles off without skipping a beat and they make the audience truly care about them and the victims they are trying to find. The sense of frustration as they find themselves to be too late time and again feel real as you watch the film.
The Bone Collector is a great example of a well directed, well acted suspense/thriller and is well worth the time investment to watch it.
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