Taking Lives

The story of “Taking Lives” begins with a “look at the past” and how a killer’s life took the path that it did—that of taking lives, not just by taking the life of his victims, but also by assuming their lives (identity theft) and living as them until he is ready to move on to a new victim.

Although that is how the movie begins, the main character is actually Illeana Scott (Angelina Jolie), who is an FBI profiler brought up to Canada from the U.S. to help on this case of what the Montreal police believe may be a serial killer. Illeana has very untraditional methods of finding clues and profiling her killers. One example: She goes straight to the grave of one of the murder victims to “lay in it, and get a feel for it” rather then reporting straight to the police with whom she was brought in to work. Her unconventional methods, which are often met with much criticism, seem to be “right on target.” And so, through her, the police come closer and closer to the suspect.

The movie also includes Ethan Hawke (James Costa) as a key witness in one of the murders, and Keiffer Sutherland as the suspected serial killer and Olivier Martinez as detective Paquette.

“Taking Lives” is a very average crime/profiler movie—much like a version of the hit television show “C.S.I.” made to fit into the format of a big screen movie. With such a talented cast of people who are not usually cast in this type of film, I had higher hopes. The trailers gave the impression that it was a horror/psychological thriller. It is even being compared to “Silence of the Lambs” which I will confess, made me a bit hesitant to see it. However, I can assure you that this movie is not scary. There are a few moments that may make you jump, but they are shown in the previews (therefore taking away much of the surprise.)

The two main characters (played by Angelina Jolie and Ethan Hawke) were developed well. The character played by Gina Rowlands in the role of the mother of the serial killer is elusive enough to keep the audience guessing. Hawke gives a strong performance, although it may not seem that way until nearer the end of the film.

Unfortunately, the movie is overall rather predictable.

OBJECTIONABLE CONTENT:

The language is very harsh although inconsistently so; it’s as though the movie has a few moments of heavy profanities (especially the f-word, and s-word) while the rest of the move seems to have none.

Crime scenes are shown, and many crime scene photos. Illeana lives with these pictures, eats meals while staring at them, sleeps with them taped above her bed, and even bathes while staring at them. The graphicness and gore could be offensive to some.

There are two scenes of nudity. A male body is briefly shown lying in the morgue, and there is a very explicit sex scene between the characters played by Jolie and Hawke. I was deeply offended during this scene, and although the knowledge of them having had sexual relations is important to the plot, the scene was unnecessary.

Overall, if you are really into crime-scene/drama style movies, then you may like “Taking Lives.” However, if you are planning to view this movie because of the THRILLer aspect, you will probably be disappointed.

Because of the language, content and sex scene, this film is certainly not for young teens, and the R rating should be taken seriously.