What Do The Critics Say?

Enjoyable thriller, enlivened by a decent script, impressive direction and strong performances from Diane Lane and Colin Hanks. Lane is a hugely likeable actress and she's well cast here, lending her character a depth and texture that probably wasn't in the script. In short, Untraceable is an entertaining thriller that's better than it sounds, thanks to strong performances and Hoblit's assured direction." Matthew Turner VIEW LONDON "While Untraceable is an amiable enough way to kill two hours, it never gels into the kind of movie that would make me run out and start endorsing it to others." Mike McGranaghan AISLE SEAT "This new variation on the theme isn't bad, in a gruesome and horrible way, and features a strong performance from Diane Lane as an FBI agent." Peter Bradshaw UK GUARDIAN "Untraceable is a horrifying thriller, smart and tightly told, and merciless." Roger Ebert CHICAGO SUN TIMES "Very enjoyable as a 'race against time' thriller and Lane is great as the weary but determined lead." Jim Hall CHANNEL 4 FILM "Untraceable may not rank as one of the best serial-killer thrillers of all time, but it packs enough punch to hold your attention way past the whodunit point." Larry Ratliff SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS NEWS "Although the plot might feel as if it's made up of borrowed bits and bytes, thanks to Lane's typically committed performance and Gregory Hoblit's usual intelligent, brisk direction, the picture remains sufficiently compelling. Toss in a killer who is sick and twisted enough to satisfy the Saw set, and you've got yourself a marketable Screen Gems release that should download solid midrange numbers. This taut, savvy cyber-thriller makes for one of the better net flicks." Michael Rechtshaffen HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

"I extend praise to director Hoblit, who really knows where to place a camera for maximum creep appeal; and to the fearless Diane Lane, who strips herself of every smidge of glamour, female foundation support and makeup to look as haggard as possible. You won’t know this is the same girl who dazzled Richard Gere in Unfaithful. Untraceable has flaws, but this cat-and-mouse team is so hypnotic that all you do is sit there waiting while they deliver one big shock after another." Rex Reed NEW YORK OBSERVER "I say 'creepy' because Untraceable’s theory could actually be a reality. The possibility of a tech-savvy psycho setting up a Web site that displays graphic murders could happen. Untraceable mostly delivers the chills, despite its conventionalities. Hoblit creates just the right amount of tension and dread as the clock ticks down and the race nears its end, but something about an overcast, rainy environ just lends itself to more doom and gloom, doesn’t it?" Kit Bowen HOLLYWOOD.COM "An effective, surprisingly controlled psychological thriller. All that’s required to fully enjoy it is a cast-iron stomach for gore and a pitch-black view of human nature." Mark Holcomb TIME OUT NEW YORK "Untraceable is a satisfying slice of solidly crafted meat and potatoes filmmaking." Joe Leydon VARIETY "Creepy, suspenseful cyber-thriller about downloading death, hacker homicide, and a baby-faced computer geek wielding a mouse as a deadly weapon." Prairie Miller NEWSBLAZE "Forgive me readers, for I have sinned. I came to a movie with a heavy bias, almost certain as a result of the trailers and the time of year it’s being released that Untraceable was going to be a piece of crap. In fact, I was prematurely patting myself on the back for planning on saying "Untraceable" would have been more appropriately titled 'Unwatchable'. But I’m a big girl (control yourselves), and I can admit when I was wrong: even if it does mean sacrificing such a witty line. If you aren’t a fan of scary thrillers, you’re going to want to give this one a wide berth. But if you’re aching for your next dose of suspense drama adrenaline, Untraceable may just do the trick." Heather Huntington REELZCHANNEL

The Inside Story When producers Tom Rosenberg ("The Exorcism of Emily Rose") and Gary Lucchesi ("Runaway Bride") first read the script by Robert Fyvolent and Mark Brinker that would eventually become "Untraceable, the timeliness of its story made it irresistible. "The cyber-crime unit of the FBI is relatively new," says Lucchesi. "It was established just six or seven years ago. "Untraceable" focuses on a case that is unusual because it doesn't deal with child abuse or credit card theft. It deals with somebody who's actually committing a murder and using the Internet to facilitate it. The public is watching and the more people who tune in, the faster the victim dies." While the Internet is a fount of useful information and entertainment, "its anonymity gives it the potential to stoke unhealthy curiosity," says Lucchesi. "A lot of us open up our computers and look at the news, but at least as many look at the gossip: Which young movie star got arrested last night or has gone after a photographer or is having sex with somebody he or she shouldn't? We’ve become a public that's fueled by Internet information. One of the things that the movie asks us is, if a violent crime was being committed, would you watch it? Would you watch it if no one knew?" To develop the script, Rosenberg and Lucchesi, who are chairman and president, respectively, of Lakeshore Entertainment, brought in screenwriter Allison Burnett, with whom they had worked on Lakeshore’s "Feast of Love". "Allison is more of a dramatic writer, but we thought his understanding of characters would work really well for this thriller," Lucchesi says. "He’s very forthcoming with ideas and quick in terms of execution. He knocked it out of the park." Together, the producers and Burnett (who's debut novel, "Christopher", was a finalist for the 2004 PEN Center USA Literary Award in Fiction) focused on creating the story’s main characters and the relationships between them, while also working hard to make sure the film remained in the realm of the technologically possible. "It was very much a collaboration," says Lucchesi. "The two of us sat with him and went through the screenplay page by page." With the central character of Jennifer Marsh fleshed out and a screen ready script the producers sent the script to Gregory Hoblit ("NYPD Blue" & "Hill Street Blues")and his frequent collaborator, producer Howard 'Hawk' Koch Jnr ("Collateral Damage" & "Gorky Park"). Once he read the screenplay, Hoblit (whose father was an FBI Agent) immediately knew he wanted to tackle the film. "The script takes a look at a whole new world," says the director. "Cyber-crime came to become a vital unit within the FBI only a few years ago. Now there’s an entire floor dedicated to nothing but cyber-crime in the Federal Building in Portland." Hoblit’s meticulous attention to detail made him an ideal choice for the movie, says Koch (who produced Holbit's "Frequency"). "If you're going to do a movie about cyber detectives, then you better know your subject matter. We really investigated the technical stuff so hopefully all the cyber geeks out there will appreciate its authenticity." Holbit brought in numerous experts, including the Portland police and FBI officials in Los Angeles and Portland. "Our key advisor from the FBI was Special Agent E.J. Hilbert," says Lucchesi. "At that time, Hilbert was a Cyber Agent, specializing in computer intrusions and subsequent computer fraud for the bureau. He has since gone on to work in security for MySpace." Special Agent Jane Brilheart, who has been with the Bureau for twenty years and works in the cyber-crime division, worked closely with the film’s star Diane Lane to help her understand the job. "I go online as a thirteen or fourteen year old girl and try to catch the individuals that are sexually exploiting children." Lane dedicated a great deal of time and energy to learning the details of the job, says Brilheart. "She came into our office to see me go online. She was interested in finding out the little things. You know, do you carry your gun every place? How do you track down an IP address? She had some great questions." Lane was also interested in how Brilheart found balance between her life as an agent and her role as a mother. "There are times when it is a hard thing to handle," Brilheart offered. "I explained to her that with your kids you tend talk about some of the dangers, but you also have to remember that, kids being kids, they need a mom, and you have to step back and shed your law enforcement life to be with them." All of the actors were appreciative of the opportunity to see real agents at work. "That to me has been sort of the most fascinating part of the whole experience, meeting the people that actually patrol the Internet for a living," says Colin Hanks ("King Kong"). "It’s extremely hard work that they do: I can see the toll that it takes, but I can also see the reward. That was more interesting than the firearms training we did, or learning how to storm a house, or any of those things." The filmmakers also brought in Phil Blanchard, a police technical advisor. "It's my job to see to it that I can create it as realistic as possible for the director," Blanchard says. "I would say there's a little cinematic license, definitely. But somewhere we're going to meet a happy medium, and it's going to look real good when it's done." Daniel Liu, a real life Portland Police sergeant who plays Detective Tom Moy in "Untraceable", also advised Burke and others on their roles. According to Liu ("Paranoid Park"), no law enforcement operation that he has been involved with is more complex that what happens on a movie set. "To see the daily chaos and then see how it blends so well together to get the final product is impressive for me to watch. And then to be a part of it, I mean, I couldn't ask for more." Liu also appreciated Hoblit’s trademark attention to detail. "You can see it when you step on the set or read the script. It's already there, or a lot of it is, but then he'll ask questions that’ll really hit the minute details. And that alone shows me the respect he has for what we in law enforcement do, and I'm sure it’s going to show up in the film." In Burnett’s script, Jennifer Marsh, the FBI Special Agent at the center of "Untraceable", became a complex and sometimes contradictory character with equal parts vulnerability and toughness. To capture the various facets of Marsh’s personality would require an actress of considerable range. Producer Howard 'Hawk' Koch Jnr ("Heaven Can Wait" & "A Night in Heaven") says that everyone involved in casting the film was immediately enthusiastic about Diane Lane playing the role. Lucchesi remembers a conversation he had with Hoblit early in the casting process. "Greg liked Diane and we thought she would bring a level of verisimilitude to the role. We had met female FBI agents and they’re interesting women, determined women and attractive women. Diane seemed to fit the bill very well." Hoblit says he has been a fan of the actress’ since he saw her in George Roy Hill’s 1979 comedy "A Little Romance". He remembers: "She was all of twelve years old. We’ve seen her grow up and do some really remarkable work. There is always something very grounded and very real and authentic about her. She’s a genuinely a gifted actress and brings a lot of intelligence and integrity to what she’s doing." 2003 Golden Satellite Award winner Lane ("Unfaithful") found the idea of a female-driven thriller irresistible. "I like smart movies where the woman is at the helm of figuring it out and not just a damsel in distress prototype. And I was fascinated by the whole cyber-crimes division of crime. I’m so naïve, you can’t imagine. I literally thought that computer viruses just spontaneously occurred, like viruses that we know in the world. It never occurred to me that people would maliciously invent harm and send it out into the universe like an arsonist or something." Billy Burke ("Along Came a Spider" & "Fracture"), plays Eric Box, a Portland police detective who joins forces with Marsh. He calls Lane "one of the coolest people I've ever worked with." Hoblit and Burke had previously worked together on "Fracture" in which the actor played Lt Robert Nunally. Speaking on "Fracture" Holbit says: "He did a great job with a role that didn’t have a lot of dimension to it. He had a presence and an honesty that is hard to find." Despite the big wrap, Burke didn’t know he’d landed the role in Untraceable until about a week before the shoot. "In my experience, it's rare that people who say they want to work with you again actually give you the job," says Burke. “I read the script and I knew that it was good and I wanted it. So when they said sit tight, that's what I did: for about two and a half months." For the role of Special Agent Griffin Dowd, Marsh’s FBI cyber-squad partner, the filmmakers chose Colin Hanks. "We had seen his work in Jake Kasdan's movie Orange County and we thought that he would add some humor to the movie." Hanks’ character is part of a younger breed of FBI agents who came of age with the Internet, says Lucchesi. "He’s in his late twenties. He's funny and irreverent. And he loves his work." He’s also an avid online dater, a detail added by screenwriter Allison Burnett, who met his wife on the Web. Hanks appreciated the irony of Dowd’s multifaceted relationship with cyberspace. "Griffin's got a doubly weird sense of humor, considering he patrols the Internet for bad guys and it’s also his main source for meeting people of the opposite sex." Hanks, who will next be seen in the action comedy "My Mom’s New Boyfriend" enjoyed the banter between his character Agents Griffin and Lane's Agent Marsh. "These two people spend long hours stuck in front of their computers together," he notes. "There has to be some sort of witty banter between them to keep them going." Synopsis

FBI Special Agent Jennifer Marsh works hard to maintain a delicate balance between her life as a single mother and her job as a law enforcement officer. Each night, she trolls the Internet with her partner Griffin Dowd, cracking down on credit card fraud and sexual predators from the bureau’s Portland, Oregon field office. When they receive a tip regarding a creepy new website, the partners begin to monitor killwithme.com in an effort to determine its authenticity. At first the site seems too outrageous to be real. The creator has stranded a kitten on a sticky rat trap and is calling on his viewers to spread the word as the cat slowly dies on camera. An intense internet search reveals an intricate web of servers and hosts that make the website virtually untraceable, but reveals that the killer is taunting the agents with clues that all point to Portland. When a local man is kidnapped and takes the kitten’s place, an even more frightening scenario unfolds. An online readout indicates how many users are logged on. The more people who visit the site, the sooner the man will die. The agents must watch in horror as the counter reaches the fatal number.

The Verdict "It'a always a pleasure to watch Hollywood Film Festival 2003 Actress Of The Year and Oscar nominee Diane Lane ("Unfaithful") at work. Needless to say, she doesn't disappoint in her latest film "Untraceable", which focusses on a psychotic killer who is screening his 'work' live on the internet from somewhere in Portland, evading detection by rerouting the streaming through numerous foreign servers which are outside the jurisdiction of US law enforcement officers. Whether or not this is actually achievable in real life I don't know, but it makes for interesting watching, thanks to the unusual condition he has applied to his live killings and all the hi-tech gadgetry the police have at their disposal. While the live screening of the deaths depicted in "Untraceable" are graphic (but thankfully not as outlandishly gruesome or gratuitous as the "Saw" movies), the film challenges the morality of those who are participanting in the killings because, by logging on to the site they are seen as accessories to the murders. While that may sound fanciful, the success of each live event does rely on the number of curious or vouyerist internet users who log on, because they are resposible for how slowly or quickly the victims die, and as would be expected, the word quickly spreads with each killing. Taken at face value it's a reasonable watch. "Untraceable" has a few things going for it: it doesn't numb the mind as "Saw" did; you don't have to be a computer geek to understand what's going on; it does question how far does freedom on the internet extend, and you get to see Tom Hanks's son Colin (from his first marriage to the late Samantha Lewes) as Agent Griffin Dowd. Worth a look at. 3 1/2 STARS." Crew Bytes "UNTRACEABLE" was .......
directed by 1994 Directors Guild of America Award winner Gregory Hoblit ["Frequency", "Hart's War" and "Fracture"]; set decoration by Cindy Carr ["G.I. Jane", "Hostage", "The Holiday" and "The Heartbreak Kid"]; costume design by Elisabetta Beraldo ["S1m0ne", "Hostage", "Lord of War" and "Fracture"]; production design by Paul Eads ["Frequency", "Save The Last Dance" and "Fracture"]; edited by American Cinema Editors Award winner David Rosenbloom ["The Insider", "Pay It Forward" and "Friday Night Lights"]; director of photography Anastas Michos ["Death to Smoochy", "Mona Lisa Smile", "The Forgotten" and "Perfect Stranger"]; original music by Christopher Young ["The Core", "The Grudge", "Ghost Rider" and "Spider-Man 3"]. Who's Who?

Diane Lane Billy Burke Colin Hanks Joseph Cross Mary Beth Hurt Peter Lewis Tyrone Giordano Perla Haney-Jardine Tim De Zarn Brynn Baron Chris Cousins Jesse Tyler Ferguson John Breen Dan Callahan Erin Carufel Gray Eubank Zack Hoffman Kirk Mouser Todd Robinson

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Agent Jennifer Marsh Detective Eric Box Agent Dowd Owen Reilly Stella Marsh Richard Brooks Tim Wilks Annie Haskins Herbert Miller Mrs Miller David Williams Arthur James Elmer Richard Weymouth Trey Restom (Spoiled Preppie) Melanie Ray Chief of Police Michael Bagley FBI Agent Carter Thompson FBI Swat Team

Run Time 100 minutes Rated MA15+ [AUST] Copyright ©2008 - Universal Pictures International - All Rights Reserved ©2008 All Rights Reserved - Protected by Australian, International, Copyright & Trademark Laws.