Dir. Neil Jordan, US/Australia, 200, 122 mins
Cast: Jodie Foster, Naveen Andrews, Terrence Howard
Review by Carol Allen
It is always a pleasure to find oneself in the hands of a confident and experienced film maker like Neil Jordan, who knows exactly how to tell a story, even though - unusually in this case - he didn't write the screenplay himself. It's also equally pleasing to enjoy the total professionalism of an actor/producer such as Jodie Foster, who technically never puts a foot wrong in this. All of which means this gripping, intelligent and original tale of a female serial killer is seductively well made.
Foster plays radio presenter Erica Bain. It is her distinctive voice telling stories of the New York streets on her show which opens the film. She has a successful career and a fiancé David (Andrews), whom she loves almost to the point of obsession. The,n one night her life is destroyed, when she and David are victims of a violent attack in Central Park, when walking their dog. David dies and Erica is left a nervous wreck, prevented by a paralysing fear from venturing out into the streets she formerly loved. Until, that is, she buys a gun. The first time she uses it is almost accidental, protecting herself from a mugger in a convenience store but, gradually, the feeling of empowerment takes over and she becomes a vigilante killer, wreaking her revenge for David's death.
It all happens so gradually and with such conviction that Erica's transformation through her depression from an apparently happy, balanced woman in charge of her life to this person she doesn't recognise is totally convincing, with the scenes of her depression being particularly well shot in terms of conveying what she is feeling. Andrews' role is small but important with his presence haunting the rest of the story. His relationship with Erica is strongly but economically portrayed, while the assault itself is appropriately brutal and appalling but handled with discretion. Howard plays NYPD detective Sean Mercer, who is investigating the vigilante killings and has his own past ghosts and personal agenda. He suspects Erica but also befriends her. There is wisely no suggestion of romance in their mutual attraction. This is a far more complicated relationship between two scarred people, who recognise their empathy with each other. The story takes us in interesting and unpredictable directions with a morally unconventional ending, endorsing as it does the debatable idea that revenge can be cathartic and healing. Our identification with Erica produces a similar moral ambiguity to that of the Death Wish films, but on a more complex and thought provoking level.
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