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	Taking Lives
	D.J. Caruso Angelina Jolie, Ethan Hawke, Kiefer Sutherland, Gena Rowlands, Olivier Martinez, Tchéky Karyo, Jean-Hugues Anglade, Paul Dano, Marie-Josée Croze 2004		Until the dupe, the duper and the one who gets duped become apparent an hour into the film, "Taking Lives" is an okay serial-killer thriller. Compared to director D.J. Caruso's previous outing "The Salton Sea," it's not as tooth-grindingly tense and gut-churningly exciting. Still, "Taking Lives" should sate non-discriminating lovers of the genre who don't mind a main course of "red herring" — the literary term for misdirection in a mystery. Illeana, a noted FBI profiler played in initially convincing fashion by a slightly de-glamorized Angelina Jolie, is imported to Canada by the Montreal police to assist in the tracking and capture of a psycho who murders his victims and assumes their identities. The U.S. agent is an old ally of Leclair (Tchéky Karyo), the inspector overseeing the investigation, but Paquette (Olivier Martinez), a detective assigned to work with Illeana, resents her. The tension between Illeana and Paquette reaches a boil as the cops get closer to nailing the perp. She has bigger problems than a territorial colleague, though. It gets harder for her to tell if suspects in the case are actually potential victims of the killer. With Ethan Hawke and Kiefer Sutherland in the cast to give off untrustworthy vibes, little can be taken for granted while watching "Taking Lives." And just when you've given up on it, a real surprise comes along.


	Wednesday, December 18, 2024





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