Untraceable
- Film Worth:$10.50
- FILMINK rates movies out of $20 - the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worth
In 1991, actress Jodie Foster starred in what is now considered one of the great...
In 1991, actress Jodie Foster starred in what is now considered one of the great crime thrillers of all time, The Silence Of The Lambs. Her character of Clarice Starling won her a deserved Best Actress Oscar that year and put the concept of a female FBI agent heroine on the celluloid map. Now, in 2008, a new breed of female FBI agent is on the scene. And just like Clarice, Special Agent Jennifer Marsh (Diane Lane) has her hands full when a sadistic internet predator displays his graphic murders on his virtually untraceable website.
Director Gregory Hoblit (Fracture, Primal Fear) has put together a crime thriller where the killer of today, instead of lurking the streets, is now lurking inside your home computer. The cast is strong and the interactions between the three main leads (Lane, Billy Burke and Colin Hanks) are solid, and even amusing at times.
But be warned: the ways in which the victims are systematically killed throughout the film makes for an uneasy, unpleasant experience. Hoblit forces the viewer into watching, in detail, the manner in which the victims are snuffed out, and this may not sit well with some. The film has an unpleasant atmosphere (with shots of pouring rain, dank night time exteriors, dark basement interiors, a moody soundtrack etc), but this only enhances the feel of the movie, and Hoblit should be praised for his efforts here.
Though not on par with other crime classics such as Se7en or The Silence Of The Lambs, Untraceable is a solid, accomplished contemporary crime thriller that displays sufficient originality within the rigid constraints of the well worn crime genre.
