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Murder by Numbers (2002)

Director: Barbet Schroeder

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From Time Out Film Guide

The Leopold and Loeb murder case revisited, once again. Gosling and Pitt are spoilt, parentally unsupervised classmates Richard and Justin, flirtatiously conspiring to 'derange the world' by committing the perfect murder and then leading the investigating authorities a merry dance. But they reckoned without Bullock's seen-it-all detective Cassie Mayweather. Her distinguishing features are a no-nonsense professionalism, a consequently strained relationship with macho male colleagues, and repressed memories of a brutal relationship, which director Schroeder drags out (through opaque, unpersuasive flashbacks) in order to underscore a cheap closing parallel with the boys' crime. Before this, the film pries into Cassie's dating habits, throws in insinuations of class antagonism, and keeps back an isolated old cabin as the location for a routine, literally 'cliff-hanging' finale.

Author: NB 0000-00-00 00:00:00

Time Out Film Guide

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Cast & crew

Director: Barbet Schroeder

Producer: Richard Crystal, Barbet Schroeder, Susan Hoffman

Cast: Sandra Bullock, Ryan Gosling, Michael Pitt, Agnes Bruckner, Chris Penn, RD Call, Ben Chaplin, Tom Verica, Janni Brenn, John Vickery full cast

Duration: 120 mins

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