Autopsy report for "The Bone Collector"

"The Bone Collector"
Overall Rating: ***


On the whole, "The Bone Collector" is a decent suspense film. Imagine mixing "Rear Window," "Seven," and the old TV show "Quincy," and you'll got some picture of "The Bone Collector." Of course, "Rear Window" and "Seven" are both much better movies--so "The Bone Collector" doesn't really help its case by reminding you of other directors' past triumphs. Nonetheless, it has it's moments.

Lincoln Rhyme (Denzel Washington) is one of the foremost experts on forensics in the country; he is not only the author of a dozen books--including the manual used in the police academy--but he is one of the New York Police Department's top forensics detectives. His stellar career seems all but over, however, when a beam falls on him--leaving him both paralyzed and subject to seizures. Fearing his condition--which doctors say will get worse, leaving him in a vegetative state--he makes preparations to commit suicide. However, when a particularly strange murder scene is found, he resolves to solve one last case, assisted by the young beat cop, Amelia Donaghy (Angelina Jolie), who preserved the important clues.

The selling point for "The Bone Collector" is definitely the cast. Angelina Jolie is good, as is most of the supporting cast. Queen Latifah, who plays Rhyme's nurse, Thelma, handles that role perfectly. Thelma is no nonsense, but compassionate towards Rhyme--Latifah delivered an excellent performance in a key role. The star, however, is clearly Denzel Washington. I've been sold on his abilities since "Malcolm X," and he doesn't disappoint here. The role is made more difficult by the fact that Rhyme is bedridden for most of the movie; Washington effectively uses his character's limited movement, giving his strong-willed character a commanding presence--all from a hospital bed. He manages the difficult role brilliantly.

The filmmakers also deserve credit. Rhyme's limited movement could have wound up being a serious limit on the whole movie. The filmmakers avoid Rhyme's limitation the way he does--Donaghy investigates the murder scenes, staying in radio contact with Rhyme; by shifting back and forth between the two, the problem is effectively solved. The movie also manages to build suspense most of the time. Often, you know a character is with the serial killer before that character does--and you wonder if the character will escape. There are also several scenes where the filmmakers use innocuous events to scare the audience: an old trick, but it works. The filmmakers also deserve credit for their handling of the forensic science: it could easily have become either too technical to follow, or too elementary to present credible problems for the characters. Fortunately, the writers maintain the balance, creating confusing problems for the characters, but not for the audience.

However, while "The Bone Collector" promises to be a great movie, it's only decent. For instance, while the film promises serious discussion of the issue of assisted suicide, it instead drops the subject almost as soon as it's brought up. The worst flaw, however, is that the end is a big letdown. A key conflict hinges on events that are discussed at the end--but never even alluded to prior to the climactic scene. The effect is a climax that comes out of nowhere. This problem is compounded by a character transformation that doesn't make complete sense (someone says something to this person that may have inspired the change, but it's not really shown). Worse still, I was able to predict the ending--I missed some of the specifics, but I don't think there's much doubt about what will happen to the criminal; this undermines the suspense that the filmmakers build earlier on. Nothing is left unresolved, but the last thirty minutes don't live up to their buildup.

Parents should almost certainly screen "The Bone Collector" before taking children. There is ample strong language. The main concern, however, would be the depiction of the serial killer's work. There are several on-screen murders, and the depicted crime scenes are extremely gory.

"The Bone Collector" should have been much better. It starts out as a good suspense film--but concludes with a trite ending. Very good actors give good performances--but play stock characters. It's worth seeing if you already wanted to, or if there's nothing that grabs you at the video store--but there are better films to examine.


Title: "The Bone Collector"
Release date: November 5, 1999
MPAA rating: R
Overall rating: ***
Aprox. run time: 118 min.
Director: Phillip Noyce
Writers: Jeremy Iacone, Jeffery Deaver (novel)
Stars: Denzel Washington, Angelina Jolie, Queen Latifah


Original URL: http://www.geocities.com/reviewsbyjohn/Bone.htm
Added to blog site: 7/26/09