'Taking Lives' is contrived 'Silence of the Lambs' clone

By Jack Garner
Gannett News Service

TAKING LIVES (R) Two Stars (Fair) An overly contrived "Silence of the Lambs" clone with Angelina Jolie as an FBI agent on loan to the police, hunting down a serial killer. Ethan Hawke co-stars. D.J. Caruso directs. Warner Bros., 103 minutes.

Such was the power of that film that filmmakers continue to emulate it in all its slimy, spooky gore. But copycat flicks aren't very enterprising when the scripts fall short on substance or originality, or when the manipulations are far too obvious. That's the case with "Taking Lives," the latest in the long line of "Lambs" clones.

This time it's Angelina Jolie on the case — and the locale is a picturesque Canadian province. Jolie is Illeana Scott, an FBI investigator who specializes in cracking cases involving psychological serial killers. She's on loan to police as they deal with a series of bloody murders.

Director D.J. Caruso and writer Jon Bokenkamp adapt the novel by Michael Pye. Since I haven't read the book, I'm not sure who to blame for the patchwork parade of plot points that drift increasingly from logic. They aim instead for the standard cliches of the genre. (In such films, the villain is never the obvious choice; in fact, it's the least obvious character. Figure out who that is, and you've got it.) Jolie brings a quirky intelligence to her performance. Her detective has an impressive eye for details and the meaning behind them — in the Sherlock Holmes tradition. Her character is likable, but it's a shame she's not working with stronger material.

However, the romantic chemistry between her and a key witness (Ethan Hawke) falls flat. Hawke plays a Canadian art dealer, but never seems to fill out his character, and never generates anything. The esteemed veteran Gena Rowlands is appropriately spooky as the misguided mother of the apparent killer. Kiefer Sutherland, though, has little opportunity to make an impression in his brief appearance.

To be fair, Caruso's film generates a handful of sure-fire fright moments. He employs herky-jerky hand-held cameras and tight editing to grab an audience in the visceral sense, even if the logic of the action is never clear. In other words, you'll jump; but then you'll feel silly.

Rated R, with gruesome violence, sex, nudity.