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Overview
User Rating:
Director:
Writer (WGA):
Tony Gayton (written by)
Release Date:
19 April 2002 (USA) more
Tagline:
Justice will be served more
Plot:
Two gifted high school students execute a "perfect" murder - then become engaged in an intellectual contest with a seasoned homicide detective. full summary | add synopsis
Awards:
2 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(22 articles)
Billy Bob Thornton Joins Dwayne Johnson in Faster
(From movies.about.com. 28 October 2009, 5:58 PM, PDT)
10 Most Overrated Young Actors
(From The Movie Fanatic. 13 October 2009, 7:18 PM, PDT)
User Comments:
By the Numbers more (279 total)
Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only)| Sandra Bullock | ... | Cassie Mayweather / Jessica Marie Hudson | |
| Ben Chaplin | ... | Sam Kennedy | |
| Ryan Gosling | ... | Richard Haywood | |
| Michael Pitt | ... | Justin Pendleton | |
| Agnes Bruckner | ... | Lisa Mills | |
| Chris Penn | ... | Ray Feathers | |
| R.D. Call | ... | Captain Rod Cody | |
| Tom Verica | ... | Asst. D.A. Al Swanson | |
| Janni Brenn | ... | Ms. Elder | |
| John Vickery | ... | Restaurant Manager | |
| Michael Canavan | ... | Mr. Chechi | |
| Krista Carpenter | ... | Olivia Lake, the Victim | |
| Neal Matarazzo | ... | Male Officer in Flashback | |
| Adilah Barnes | ... | Lab Technician | |
| Jim Jansen | ... | Lawyer |
Additional Details
Also Known As:
Foolproof (USA) (working title)
Murd3r 8y Num8ers (USA) (promotional title)
more
MPAA:
Rated R for violence, language, a sex scene and brief drug use.
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
120 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS
Certification:
Netherlands:12 | Iceland:16 | Malaysia:18SG (uncut version) | Malaysia:U (cut) | France:U (with warning) | New Zealand:R16 | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | Canada:14A | Finland:K-15 | Germany:16 | Norway:15 | Peru:14 | Singapore:NC-16 | Singapore:PG (cut) | South Korea:18 | Spain:18 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:16 (canton of the Grisons) | UK:15 | USA:R (Certifitcate #38866) | Portugal:M/16 | Philippines:R-18 | Australia:M (TV rating)
Filming Locations:
Company:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
In one scene, the camera pans briefly across a cinema that is showing The Bitter Tea of General Yen (1933). That film was directed by Frank Capra whose grandson, Frank Capra III is first assistant director of this film. more
Goofs:
Factual errors: The active ingredient in marijuana is delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, not "tetrahedral chloride" as identified in the film, other than the comparison to pot, the character's description of absinthe is otherwise correct more
Quotes:
[first lines]
Richard:
Shall we say the words one last time?
Justin:
One cannot live fully without embracing suicide in crime.
Richard:
Say it.
Justin:
A pact made with relentless fire that requires that, while some live, others die.
Richard:
On three...
in unison:
One, two, three
[gun shot]
more
Soundtrack:
London Rain (Nothing Heals Me Like You Do) more
FAQ
Who do the boys murder and why?Whose voice do we hear when Richard and Cassie are fighting on the porch toward the end of the movie?
Where did they shoot the scenes of the old lodge on the bluff?
more
more (279 total)
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Barbet Schroeder's "Murder by Numbers" starring Sandra Bullock is solid work, though not particularly compelling. I am a big Sandra Bullock fan, and she is effective here as forensic detective Cassie Mayweather, who is not very likable and a broken person too. However, there is a sense of detachment inherent in the story structure. It's about the perfect murder executed by two spoiled sociopath teenagers, Richard (Ryan Gusling) who is the cool one, and Justin ( Michael Pitt) who is the sympathetic geek. Basically, Richard and Justin kill a young woman, because they have nothing better to do on a school night. They are very smart and very arrogant which is normally not a bad thing, but it just doesn't work here. Tony Gayton's script does a great job of detailing the investigation of a puzzling murder, and it is truly by the numbers. We have these two punk kids flaunting their superiority, and we just want them to take a fall.
This is not a great exploration into the dark side, like Schroeder's "Reversal of Fortune" about Claus von Bulow. There are interesting turns in "Numbers". The movie is not so much a thriller, but rather a character study of Cassie. Sandra Bullock balances the bravado of Cassie, her fear of letting people get in with her, and her secret past. Bullock brings courage and strength to a suffering character. Her partner and sort of love interest, Sam (played by Ben Chaplin), is more a plot unconcealing than a real character. Though Chaplin does the bewilderment thing very admirably. The other nice touch is having Richard and Justin involved a strange sexual attraction. The most interesting thing about "Numbers" are Pitt and Gusling.
There are many entertaining twists and turns throughout the movie. Everything is done very competently. I saw the movie about a week ago, and in retrospect I like it a little more than I did when I saw it. However, it is just not inspired work. Sandra Bullock and Barbet Schroeder deserve a lot better, and so do we.