Sandra Bullock finally hits jackpot in thrilling 'Murder by Numbers'

By Margaret A. McGurk
The Cincinnati Enquirer

MURDER BY NUMBERS (Rated R for violence, language, sex, brief drug use) Three Stars (Good). Sandra Bullock rebounds from a slump as a tough, wounded detective on the trail of two rich kids turned thrill-killers. Co-stars Ryan Gosling, Michael Pitt and Ben Chaplin. Directed by Barbet Schroeder. Warner Bros., 119 minutes.

Happily for film fans, in "Murder by Numbers" she rebounds with a strong, focused performance well suited to a slick drama with as much substance as style.

Directed by Barbet Schroeder with the spooky touch he brought to "Single White Female," "Murder By Numbers" pits Bullock as detective Cassie Mayweather against a particularly ugly turn-of-the-new-century nightmare — teen-aged thrill-killers.

Cassie is abrasively competent, steamrolling her boss (R.D. Call) and the new partner (Ben Chaplin) who is assigned because no one else on the force will work with her.

Her stainless-steel exterior is, of course, a disguise to mask deep scars. Her past emerges in bits and pieces of flashback, though few contain surprises. There is never any mystery about the fact that the murder she is investigating re-awakens her most painful, private memories.

It is a compliment to the film to say that Bullock works diligently to hold her own against the actors who play her targets, monsters who on the surface look like smart kids with fat wallets and empty lives.

For Justin Pendleton (Michael Pitt), the journey into darkness begins as an intellectual game; he makes his mark in the high school social order by playing the brooding philosopher who sneers at bourgeoisie values. Pitt (Tommy Gnosis in "Hedwig and The Angry Inch)" turns Justin into a scarily realistic blend of ego, resentment, confusion and self-loathing.

His kindred spirit, Richard Haywood, is a stone-cold sociopath — equal parts charm and lethal fury. Ryan Gosling, who startled critics and audiences as a neo-Nazi youth in "The Believer," crawls all over the role of Richard and emerges as one of the creepiest villains we've seen on screen in a long time.

The fresh, thoughtful approach that the filmmakers bring to the story doesn't quite hold up; the overstuffed final reel feels crammed with at least two endings too many.

Even so, "Murder By Numbers" scores with sharp chills and top-notch acting — qualities that too many thrillers leave behind.

Rated R for violence, language, sex, brief drug use.