Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
Bookmark this pageMurder by Numbers (2002)
Director: Barbet Schroeder
Movie review
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
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
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
Stephen Poliakoff discusses 'Glorious 39'
Stephen Poliakoff’s ‘Glorious 39’ is his first film for cinema since ‘Food of Love’ in 1997. Dave Calhoun met him
Is 'Paranormal Activity' the new 'Blair Witch'?
How does a film go from DIY experiment to box-office smash? 'Paranormal Activity' director Oren Peli explains
Steven Soderbergh on 'The Informant!' and 'The Girlfriend Experience'
We talk to Steven Soderbergh about his two forthcoming films: one featuring a porn star, the other a chubby Matt Damon
A gateway to all things 'New Moon'
In anticipation of 'The Twilight Saga: New Moon', Time Out is offering the chance to pick up a limited edition pack with three exclusive magazines and a free poster.
London Children's Film Festival
Read our exclusive reviews of films playing at the 2009 London Children’s Film Festival
The films that deserve a TV spin-off
With Roland Emmerich suggesting he'd like to make a '2012' TV spin-off, we propose some more movie-to-TV serialisations
The Coen brothers discuss 'A Serious Man'
Masters of contrary comedy, Joel and Ethan Coen have struck gold again with their latest, ‘A Serious Man’
Michael Haneke discusses 'The White Ribbon'
Dave Calhoun met with Michael Haneke in Munich to mull over the details of his Palme d'Or winner, 'The White Ribbon'
Ten inspirations behind 'Avatar'?
Time Out ponders the influences behind James Cameron's anticipated space-opera on the basis of the trailer
Time Out's 50 greatest animated films with commentary by Terry Gilliam
In celebration of the release of Pixar's 'Up' and Wes Anderson's 'Fantastic Mr Fox', read our rundown of fifty classic feature length animations
What do you think?
Post your review now