In short - To Catch A Killer has great cinematography, atmospheric music, a decent (although done-to-death) story, great acting, an intelligent script and likeable characters. That said, the film cannot reach the heights of other movies that have inspired it. The film is good, but not great. If you are after a crime film with a strong-female protagonist, I'd strongly recommend The Bone Collector or The Silence of the Lambs.
For a longer interpretation - the film begins at New Year's Eve, with stereotypical party soundtracks, and some nice upside-down camera shots. As the non-diegetic soundtrack plays, random strangers are shot by a sniper, who demonstrates proficient accuracy by shooting the victims in otherwise difficult circumstances. What sets this film apart from other thrillers right from the opening, is the otherwise festive atmosphere established, and the intelligence and skill of the shooter, which makes them a dangerous opponent.
Stories about law enforcement tracking down wanted fugitives are not uncommon, and despite the film's confident start, where the film falls flat is with its characters, specifically, with a focus on telling the audience instead of showing.
Granted, FBI agent. Lammark (the always brilliant Ben Mendelsohn) is shown to be a controlling glory hound, other characters are merely described. Example, Agent Jack McKenzie (Jovan Adepo), is said to be an ' average investigator', though his investigative skills are seldom demonstrated. Another example is the reveal of a character's sexuality, and yet, we are never even introduced to their partner to actually show us this part of their identity. If it is so important to say something, why isn't it important enough to show?
Never is this truer than with our protagonist, Eleanor (Shailene Woodley). She is said to be, on more than one occasion, ' f---ed up' (the film's description, not mine), and it is insinuated she would be a criminal if she weren't a cop. Despite showing us the scars on her wrists, and a bottle of pills in her drawer, the film never, and I mean NEVER, shows us how or why she is, as it describes - screwed up - and thus, does not demonstrate how she can think the way the killer does.
Granted, in the first few minutes of being introduced to Eleanor, we as the audience learn she is not only intelligent but determined too, and willing to put her life in harm's way chasing the truth, whilst also being vulnerable. In short, she has a fantastic introduction. She says some great lines too, example, describing 'evil' as 'pulling the wings off a fly', but her ability to literally get inside the killer's head (which was a big part of the film's marketing as well) is not explored, and thus, the film's focus on this is severely lacking. I mean, if Eleanor were like a Hannah Lecter or Natalie Bates, this would be more compelling. In fact (and this is not a spoiler), Eleanor's ability to ' think like the killer' has nothing to do with how she eventually catches up with him.
A second take-away from the film, is that a lot of this is a talkfest. In a two-hour movie, the amount of action is limited to roughly ten minutes. Now, though I could listen to Ben Mendelsohn talk for probably the rest of my life, I don't think everyone is in the same boat, and despite the smart dialogue, some of this could have been cut, because there are scenes (example, a dinner between investigators) that doesn't provide viewers with any important details. The same could be said for characters, with agents McKenzie and Marquand (Jason Cavalier) having the possibility to be merged into one character, with no harm to the film's plot.
As for the antagonist, we later learn more about his origins that we do about the protagonists, though it is not established how he came to learn some of his skills (example, explosives). The actors do a pretty good job with the script, and though a lot of it sounds good, I question how much of it is really vital to the narrative. At the end of the day, To Catch A Killer is a good film, but it left me wanting more, and just made me hungry for a crime film with more in-depth characters and a tighter narrative.
For a longer interpretation - the film begins at New Year's Eve, with stereotypical party soundtracks, and some nice upside-down camera shots. As the non-diegetic soundtrack plays, random strangers are shot by a sniper, who demonstrates proficient accuracy by shooting the victims in otherwise difficult circumstances. What sets this film apart from other thrillers right from the opening, is the otherwise festive atmosphere established, and the intelligence and skill of the shooter, which makes them a dangerous opponent.
Stories about law enforcement tracking down wanted fugitives are not uncommon, and despite the film's confident start, where the film falls flat is with its characters, specifically, with a focus on telling the audience instead of showing.
Granted, FBI agent. Lammark (the always brilliant Ben Mendelsohn) is shown to be a controlling glory hound, other characters are merely described. Example, Agent Jack McKenzie (Jovan Adepo), is said to be an ' average investigator', though his investigative skills are seldom demonstrated. Another example is the reveal of a character's sexuality, and yet, we are never even introduced to their partner to actually show us this part of their identity. If it is so important to say something, why isn't it important enough to show?
Never is this truer than with our protagonist, Eleanor (Shailene Woodley). She is said to be, on more than one occasion, ' f---ed up' (the film's description, not mine), and it is insinuated she would be a criminal if she weren't a cop. Despite showing us the scars on her wrists, and a bottle of pills in her drawer, the film never, and I mean NEVER, shows us how or why she is, as it describes - screwed up - and thus, does not demonstrate how she can think the way the killer does.
Granted, in the first few minutes of being introduced to Eleanor, we as the audience learn she is not only intelligent but determined too, and willing to put her life in harm's way chasing the truth, whilst also being vulnerable. In short, she has a fantastic introduction. She says some great lines too, example, describing 'evil' as 'pulling the wings off a fly', but her ability to literally get inside the killer's head (which was a big part of the film's marketing as well) is not explored, and thus, the film's focus on this is severely lacking. I mean, if Eleanor were like a Hannah Lecter or Natalie Bates, this would be more compelling. In fact (and this is not a spoiler), Eleanor's ability to ' think like the killer' has nothing to do with how she eventually catches up with him.
A second take-away from the film, is that a lot of this is a talkfest. In a two-hour movie, the amount of action is limited to roughly ten minutes. Now, though I could listen to Ben Mendelsohn talk for probably the rest of my life, I don't think everyone is in the same boat, and despite the smart dialogue, some of this could have been cut, because there are scenes (example, a dinner between investigators) that doesn't provide viewers with any important details. The same could be said for characters, with agents McKenzie and Marquand (Jason Cavalier) having the possibility to be merged into one character, with no harm to the film's plot.
As for the antagonist, we later learn more about his origins that we do about the protagonists, though it is not established how he came to learn some of his skills (example, explosives). The actors do a pretty good job with the script, and though a lot of it sounds good, I question how much of it is really vital to the narrative. At the end of the day, To Catch A Killer is a good film, but it left me wanting more, and just made me hungry for a crime film with more in-depth characters and a tighter narrative.