"Taking Lives is a swell-looking movie with lavish production values and not a single original idea, not a single surprise." Gary Thompson PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS "Mundane police thrillers with female leads are best left to somebody like Ashley Judd." Craig Roush KINNOPIO'S MOVIE REVIEWS "The first nine minutes of Taking Lives are, in fact, compelling and good ... Sadly, the rest of Taking Lives is not worth paying for." Rene Rodriguez MIAMI HERALD "Serial thriller starts with a bang, ends with a whimper, and never really moves beyond following its forebears." James Rocchi NETFLIX

"What really compromises the impact of Taking Lives is that the 'surprise' about the identity of the madman is a foregone conclusion." Jon Niccum LAWRENCE JOURNAL-WORLD "Ethan Hawke is the stand-out best element of Taking Lives. But the film offers few surprises, and that's a crime among suspense thrillers." Mervius FANTASTICA DAILY "Even with its superior cast and for all its early posturing, Taking Lives is just an excuse to stuff human beings into body bags." Bruce Kirkland JAM! MOVIES "A thriller that provides jolts - and not enough lasting kick." Robert Denerstein DENVER ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS

At A Glance

"The filmmakers may sense that their powers are spent because they add a nude scene with Jolie that feels more obligatory than gratuitous." Dan Lybarger KANSAS CITY STAR

It's a sad fact of life that not everything goes to plan. You know the old saying; "the best laid plans ....". And it's true to say that not every idea is a good one. That unfortunately sums up "Taking Lives". The idea is good, a killer who kills to assume a new identity by taking over his victims life; then bringing in a profiler when the local cops are at their wits end sounds like a good idea too; introducing viewers to the killer as he despatches his first victim with cold blooded precision really gets the adrenelin going; having the popular and beautiful Angelina Jolie in the lead role as Illeana Scott an FBI profiler must have had everyone thinking they were on a winner; but sadly it all falls into a hole. What could have been an absolute, edge of your seat thriller has been relegated to a very average movie indeed. So what were they thinking?
"I'm intrigued with the notion of identity, who we are and who we think we are," says director DJ Caruso, explaining the main theme behind the film "Taking Lives". This is a killer with a difference, "He's life-jacking," says Caruso. "Not only does this guy, in his mind, become you, but he imagines he's living your life better than you would potentially live it, and that's part of his enjoyment." The man who coined the term life-jacking explained it this way,"it's not so much a who-dunnit as a why-dunnit. The way the case must be solved is by figuring out the reasons for the killer's behavior, finding his point of view, and from that, ultimately, discovering who he is." That of course leads to the fear factor.
"We live in dangerous times and certainly this movie operates on that level, stirs that sense of prickly terror," says producer Mark Canton. "But it also touches on ideas about childhood, alienation and rejection, themes that develop in a person's life at a very early age and how childhood fantasies sometimes manifest themselves in powerful and destructive ways. As a parent, I find that particularly fascinating. It's an intelligent story, a smart person's thriller." That sounds reasonable enough, after all most of us love a thriller, including screenwriter Jon Bokenkamp. "I love thrillers," he said. "A good thriller is like a math problem; the answers are there all along, you just have to work them out." "Taking Lives" was adapted from the Michael Pye novel. "What I loved about Michael's book was the unique nature of the killer," he said. "It makes you wonder, what drives him? What is he hiding from? Thematically, it's about feeling uncomfortable in your own skin." But FBI Profiler Illeana Scott wasn't in the Michael Pye novel so why such a major departure. According to Bokenkamp, "the serial killer Michael created was fascinating. Working backwards from that, I wanted to tell his story and at the same time offer an intimate look at the people who would be tracking him. Ultimately, I arrived at the idea of Illeana Scott, a woman who lives for her job, whose personal history is every bit as unknown and intriguing as the killer's." Perhaps they should have stuck with the storyline in the novel for the character Illeana Scott is not strong enough to carry the film. Or should I say Jolies interpretation of her character is not strong enough to carry the film. Ethan Hawke jokingly points out that "Angelina Jolie is really playing the classic leading man in this movie. She's the male lead and I take the female role." Even more confusing. In the end, even though he never intended his words to be interpreted this way producer Bernie Goldmann may have hit the nail on the head when he said, "You're never quite sure where the story or the characters are going." That seems best to sum up everything about "Taking Lives". You're never quite sure with "Taking Lives", even up to the last moments of it's twisted end. Cast & Crew Bytes "Taking Lives" was directed by DJ Caruso ["The Salton Sea"], produced by Mark Canton ["Die Laughing", "get Carter", "Angel Eyes" and "Trapped"] and Bernie Goldmann ["Soul Man", "Corina Corina", "Evil Woman" and Looney Tunes: Back In Action"] from the screenplay by Jon Bokenkamp ["Preston Tylk" and "Drive-in Movie Memories" ] with Cinematography under the direction of Amir M Mokri ["All You Can Dream", "Whore", "The Joy Luck Club", "The Salton Sea" and "Bad Boys II"] and the original music was composed by Pilip Glass ["Hamburger Hill", "Bent", "Diaspora" and "The Hours"].
"Taking Sides" stars Angelina Jolie ["Pushing Tin", "The Bone Collector", "Original Sin" and "Girl, Interrupted"], Ethan Hawke ["Explorers", "Dead Poets Society", "Gattaca", "The Newton Boys" and "Training Days"], Olivier Martinez ["Before Night Falls", "Unfaithful" and "S.W.A.T"], Tchéky Karyo ["Australia", "Nikita", "Habitat", "Bad Boys" and "Saving Grace"], Jean-Hugues Anglade ["The Wounded Man", "Nikita", "Killing Zoe" and "Sweat"], with Kiefer Sutherland ["Max Dugan Returns", "Young Guns", "The Vanishing" and "Phone Book"] as Hart and Gena Rowlands ["Lonely Are The Brave", "Silent Cries", "She's So Lovely" and "The Weekend"] as Mrs Asher. Who Is That? Academy Award winning Film Editor Anne V Coates didn't always work in the film industry. In fact after graduating from Bartrum Gables College she worked in the newly developing area of plastic surgery as a nurse. Born in 1925 it was 26 years later that she edited her first major film The Pickwick Papers. Since then she has worked in both the British and American film Industry. The niece of J Arthur Rank wrote in 1963, "I got into the industry through influence". Never the less her career has been a glorious one. Not only as a Film Editor but as a mother too, raising two boys and a girl, Anthony [a director], James and Emma. Coates work has taken her on journey through all genre's of film and work that has covered six decades and generations of cinema fans. Coates has been nominated on five occassions at the Oscars. She received an Oscar for the 1962 film "Lawrence Of Arabia". In 2003 she was awarded the OBE [Officer of the British Empire]. Her works as a film editor are .....

Unfaithful Erin Brockovich Passion of Mind Out of Sight Out to Sea Striptease Congo Pontiac Moon In the Line of Fire Chaplin What About Bob? I Love You to Death

2002 2000 2000 1998 1997 1996 1995 1994 1993 1992 1991 1990

Farewell to the King Masters of the Universe Lady Jane Raw Deal Greystoke The Pirates of Penzance Ragtime The Eagle Has Landed Murder on the Orient Express Becket Lawrence of Arabia To Paris with Love

1989 1987 1986 1986 1984 1983 1981 1977 1974 1964 1962 1954

The Story

"The chattering couple seated next to me managed to correctly guess every upcoming development, and they were definitely not on a break from a Mensa convention." James Sanford KALAMAZOO GAZETTE

There's a murderer on the loose and he's proving to be very elusive. The Montreal police have run into a dead end so the Chief decides it is time to call in some outside help. No, not more local detectives, but a profiler, someone who can give them an idea of just who they are looking for. Initially Illeana Scott receives a cold reception. Her methods seem highly unusual and she is after all, an outsider. Working meticuously with the clues from a number of murders she comes up with a theory. The murderer is killing his victims and taking over their lives. Living his victims lives until he needs to move on. Until he can find someone suitable to displace. A loner with eyes only for the job, Illeana finds herself attracted to the only witness who has come in contact with the killer and survived. Against her better judgement Illeana Scott breaks the cardinal rule; never get involved. It will put her career on the line. It will put her life on the line. The Verdict "Starts out at a frantic pace and slowly they put the skids on it. While it is a bit of a no-brainer [you don't have to be Eintsein to work out the bad guy] and the plot falls apart, the good news is, you will get to see those lucious, plump, inviting Jolie lips and a good glimpse of her in the nude. Other than that it's middle of the road stuff throughout. If you've seen everything else or if your an Angeline Jolie fan, you'll find "Taking Lives" a passable sunday afternoon filler. Nothing more, nothing less. Pedestrian paced viewing." The Cast

Angelina Jolie Ethan Hawke Kiefer Sutherland Gena Rowlands Olivier Martinez Tchéky Karyo Jean-Hugues Anglade Paul Dano Justin Chatwin André Lacoste Billy Two Rivers Richard Lemire Julien Poulin Marie-Josée Croze Christian Tessier Brigitte Bedard Dominique Briand Alex Sol Shawn Roberts Martin Brisebois

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Illeana Scott Costa Hart Mrs Asher Paquette Leclair Duval Young Asher Matt Soulsby Cashier Car Salesman Québec City Cop Québec City Inspector Medical Examiner Interrogation Officer French Reporte r Bartender Hotel Manager Desk Clerk Henri Bisonnette

The Crew Directed by DJ Caruso From the novel by Michael Pye Screen Story & Screenplay by Jon Bokenkamp Produced by Mark Canton & Bernie Goldmann Original Music by Philip Glass Cinematography by Amir M Mokri Film Editing by Anne V Coates Casting by Deborah Aquila & Mary Tricia Wood Production Design by Tom Southwell Art Direction by Serge Bureau Set Decoration by Anne Galéa Costume Design by Marie-Sylvie Deveau Production Manager Josette Perrotta Run Time 103 minutes Rated MA15+ [AUST] Copyright ©2004 - 2004 Warner Bros Entertainment - All Rights Reserved Copyright © 2004 - Impact Internet Services - All Rights Reserved