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Anamorph (2007)
Director: H.S. Miller
Movie review
From Time Out New York
Serial killer as artist—a dubious conceit, to be sure, but H.S. Miller’s moody, cerebral thriller breathes a bit of life into some moldy abstractions, thanks to Willem Dafoe’s expertly lifeless turn as NYPD detective Stan Aubray. The antithesis of the wisecracking noir hero, soft-spoken Stan remains haunted by the crimes of a sociopathic killer who had terrorized the city, crafting his murder scenes as gruesome tableaux, before apparently being killed by Stan. Five years later, the detective is called in to investigate what at first seems to be a series of copycat crimes.
No recent American movie has been so baldly concerned with the question of interpretation (the title is derived from anamorphosis, a visual technique that yields an image viewable only from a specific vantage point or with the use of a mirror). This leads to an annoying solipsism—compelling as it often is, Anamorph feels positively cloddish next to David Fincher’s Seven or Zodiac, with which it shares a fondness for shadowy rooms and dimly lit obsessions. It turns out that Stan, already marked as an art critic by virtue of his efforts to scour the artist-killer’s works for clues to his identity, has also become the inspiration for said works, and perhaps by the end, even a sort of unconscious coconspirator. Or at least that’s one way of looking at it.
Author: Joshua Land
Time Out New York Issue 655: April 17-23,2008
User reviews of this film
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- ClaireG said...
- Posted on Aug 08 2009 12:00 I liked it. I thought of Seven immediately when I watched this film, however I do not feel it can compare for that fact that the script in Anamorph is minimal where in Seven it is part of the genius of the film. I do feel Anamorph was an original and entertaining film and Willem Defoe was great in his role. It didn't quite fulfill it's potential though.
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- MaMMoth said...
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Posted on Apr 27 2009 21:12
Ya as thomas said we leave like we missed a part... I don't really understand the end even if i usually get the meaning from movies :P Last time that happened was with 2001 Space Odyssea.... So ya I was coming here to try to find out the meaning of the end.
I enjoyed the movie though. - Report as inappropriate
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- Thomas said...
- Posted on Apr 19 2008 08:30 Deborah Harry shines in another of her too brief parts. The film is not that bad, except better to watch on dvd or cable and not cough up 11 bucks to see it. some Unusual parts but you leave feeling like you missed something.
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Cast & crew
Director: H.S. Miller
Cast: Willem Dafoe, Scott Speedman, Clea Duvall
Rated: R
Duration: 103 mins
US Release: Apr 18 2008
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