| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Angelina Jolie | ... | ||
| Ethan Hawke | ... | ||
| Kiefer Sutherland | ... | ||
| Gena Rowlands | ... | ||
| Olivier Martinez | ... | ||
| Tchéky Karyo | ... | ||
| Jean-Hugues Anglade | ... | ||
| Paul Dano | ... |
Young Asher
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| Justin Chatwin | ... |
Matt Soulsby
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| André Lacoste | ... | ||
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Billy Two Rivers | ... |
Car Salesman
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Richard Lemire | ... |
Québec City Cop
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| Julien Poulin | ... |
Québec City Inspector
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| Marie-Josée Croze | ... |
Medical Examiner
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| Christian Tessier | ... |
Interrogation Officer
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The film starts in the early 1980s. Young Martin Asher took a bus for Canada. He meets another teen on the bus, Matt Soulsby. When the bus broke down they decided to rent a car and drive to Seattle. On the road the car gets a flat tire, and Matt starts changing the tire. Martin comments on how he and Matt are about the same height, and in that moment he quickly pushes Matt in the way of an oncoming truck causing a huge accident where Matt and the driver both die. He took Matt's guitar and left singing like Matt did. Twenty years later, an FBI profiler, Illeana Scott comes to Canada to help hunt down the now serial killer Martin Asher who killed multiple men and lived by their identities. Martin's mother claims that she saw Martin in Quebec city and she tells the police that Martin is evil. The police also has an eyewitness James Costa who saw Asher kill his last victim... Written by victoria
Taking Lives is the story of a serial killer who murders loners and usurps their identities for a time before moving on to the next victim. The story centers around an FBI agent (Angelina Jolie) as she tracks the killer down.
I enjoyed this movie. It has the characteristic gore required for such films, but done in a far different way and in a manner that actually contributes to the plot, not just for the sheer shock value. It has the characteristic plot turns and twists designed to keep you guessing, but for the most part they are well thought out and not just gags from over-clever writers. And it does have a rather solid ending. Too many of these "keep you guessing" thrillers disappoint you in the end, this one doesn't.
Angelina Jolie is very solid in this role, redeeming her in my eyes after her stints in the horrible Lara Croft films. The supporting cast is good as well. Ethan Hawke (who plays a man believed to be the next victim) is less believable in his own role, sometimes he plays the character so obviously exaggerated it loses it's substance. This "obviousness" keeps me from giving it a 10, I can only give it an 8.
I am glad to finally have a film actually set in Canada with Canadian characters and locales, and not simply filmed there to save money.