Murder by Numbers (2002)

Director:

Barbet Schroeder

Writer (WGA):

Tony Gayton (written by)

Release Date:

19 April 2002 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

Justice will be served

Plot:

Two gifted high school students execute a "perfect" murder - then become engaged in an intellectual contest with a seasoned homicide detective.

Plot Keywords:

Murder | High School | Investigation | FBI | Psycho Thriller

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Sandra Bullock	...	Cassie Mayweather / Jessica Marie Hudson
Ben Chaplin	...	Sam Kennedy
Ryan Gosling	...	Richard Haywood
Michael Pitt	...	Justin Pendleton
Agnes Bruckner	...	Lisa Mills
Chris Penn	...	Ray Feathers
R.D. Call	...	Captain Rod Cody
Tom Verica	...	Asst. D.A. Al Swanson
Janni Brenn	...	Ms. Elder
John Vickery	...	Restaurant Manager
Michael Canavan	...	Mr. Chechi
Krista Carpenter	...	Olivia Lake, the Victim
Neal Matarazzo	...	Male Officer in Flashback
Adilah Barnes	...	Lab Technician
Jim Jansen	...	Lawyer

Also Known As:

Foolproof (USA) (working title)
Murd3r 8y Num8ers (USA) (promotional title)

MPAA:

Rated R for violence, language, a sex scene and brief drug use.

Runtime:

120 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Netherlands:12 | Iceland:16 | Malaysia:18SG (uncut version) | Malaysia:U (cut) | France:U (with warning) | New Zealand:R16 | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | Canada:14A | Finland:K-15 | Germany:16 | Norway:15 | Peru:14 | Singapore:NC-16 | Singapore:PG (cut) | South Korea:18 | Spain:18 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:16 (canton of the Grisons) | UK:15 | USA:R (Certifitcate #38866) | Portugal:M/16 | Philippines:R-18 | Australia:M (TV rating)

Filming Locations:

Altadena, California, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

Henry Bean, who also directed Ryan Gosling in The Believer (2001), did several uncredited re-writes on this film.

Goofs:

Continuity: Richard's hair goes from long to short and back to longer in a matter of days.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Richard: Shall we say the words one last time?
Justin: One cannot live fully without embracing suicide in crime.
Richard: Say it.
Justin: A pact made with relentless fire that requires that, while some live, others die.
Richard: On three...
in unison: One, two, three
[gun shot]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Film Geek (2005)

Soundtrack:

Anything But Down

Gripping despite being overly familiar

As a hard-nosed cop investigating an apparently motiveless murder, and appearing to unravel as she does so, Sandra Bullock does something approximating to real acting in Barbet Schroeder's overly familiar thriller. Ryan Gosling and Michael Pitt play a couple of high school kids who commit a Loeb/Leopold style crime, planting a number of false 'clues' so that the police will build up a picture of the killer. They even have a suspect lined up. Of course, the one thing they didn't bank on was Bullock's chip-on-the-shoulder uberbitch detective.

Schroeder does not build his film visually. It has a conventional TV movie feel to it and, despite being well played, Pitt's nerdy all-knowing geek is a bit too formulaic. But the film holds you nevertheless. Schroeder displays a storyteller's gift for how things should develop, (though a subplot involving an earlier violent event in Bullock's life seems like an unnecessary intrusion). And as the cock-of-the-walk arrogant yet vulnerable rich kid killer Ryan Gosling is the real McCoy. He can convey charm and menace in equal measure and often in the same moment and confirms his status as one of the best young actors in movies at the minute.