Murder by Numbers

I wonder if the Leopold and Loeb case didn't exist, Hollywood would have invented it. It's been the basis of many films, as well as other literary forms, and seems irresistable. Two young men, who think of themselves as Nietzschean supermen, murder someone to see if they can get away with it. This provided the basis for Alfred Hitchcock's Rope, as well as an already forgotten film from 2002 by director Barbet Schroeder, Murder by Numbers.

The killers in this instance are played by Ryan Gosling, in one of the first roles that brought him some attention, and Michael Pitt, who is still playing variations on the role as late as this year, in Funny Games. Gosling's character is the popular kid, Pitt is the loner genius who has an unhealthy interest in forensic science. They have sort of odd symbiotic relationship that is not explicitly homosexual, but sure has all sorts of signs indicating that it is (unlike Gus Van Sant's Elephant, which was a version of the Columbine shootings that had the killers frankly groping in the shower).

The focal point of the film is not so much the killers, though, as the investigators, primarily Sandra Bullock as one of those quirky detectives that are so prevalent in films. She's got a deep secret in her past that spurs her on, and also makes her something of an asshole. She's got a new partner, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed Ben Chaplin, and when she sleeps with him for sport he gets all pouty about it. When Bullock gets on Gosling's trail, she immediately hates him, as we are cued to wonder about how she got some interesting scars.

This film is ultimately a let-down, but it has moments where you start thinking it might be good. The puzzle is somewhat interesting, but ultimately gets very little attention (it involves a broken clock, which was probably lifted from an Encyclopedia Brown book). Instead the filmmakers focus on the psychological angle, whether Bullock's deep-seated pissed-offedness or Gosling and Pitt's bizarre relationship.

Just when you think it gets interesting, the film surrenders to multiplex standards. The ending, in an abandoned house atop a cliff (why would such prime real estate be left to rot?) is run-of-the-mill "look out behind you" stuff. Also, the title is meaningless, the murder and its subsequent investigation has nothing to do with numbers.

Most of the time I spent this film wondering about things, like Bullock's career. She's obviously made a mint and is a well-known name, but as she ever really knocked one of the park? She executive produced here, so obviously this is what she wanted to do, but aside from a supporting role in Crash the last thing I remember her doing is Premonition and Miss Congeniality 2, which are not exactly sterling moments. And what happened to Barbet Schroeder? After Barfly and Reversal of Fortune I would have thought he would have ended up doing better stuff than this. And what happened to Agnes Bruckner? She plays the girl who is sought by both boys here, for good reason, as she is an alluring and interesting presence on film (I thought she was terrific in Blue Car). Looking at IMDB, she seems to be doing nothing but disposable horror films. The only thing to have escaped this film seems to be Gosling.