The Watcher
(2000)
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A stylish thriller that recalls David Fincher's SEVEN, THE WATCHER is set in the urban landscape of modern Chicago. The story follows Los Angeles transplant Joel Campbell (James Spader), an ex-police detective who has relocated to Chicago in order to escape his past. It appears that a dangerous serial killer, David Allen Griffin (Keanu Reeves), has formed a special emotional attachment to Campbell, luring him to Chicago in order to continue their deadly game of cat-and-mouse. Each game commences when Griffin sends Campbell a picture of a young girl, giving Campbell 24 hours to track her down before she's murdered. After three tragic failures, the stakes are upped when Griffin kidnaps Campbell's beautiful psychiatrist, Polly (Marisa Tomei), mimicking an earlier event that drove Campbell to Chicago in the first place. |
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Keanu Reeves's eclectic choice of roles finds him straying into Anthony Hopkins territory with his portrayal of an FBI-taunting serial killer. On the evidence of this dismal thriller, Hopkins doesn't have much to worry about. Reeves is the strangler who's relocated to Chicago to continue his game of psychological warfare with James Spader's troubled agent. There are a few creepy sequences, but pop video-maker and first-time director Joe Charbanic never manages to sustain a credible air of menace. Spader is his usual accomplished self, while Marisa Tomei does her best with a rather unconvincing role as Spader's therapist. But the big problem here is Reeves, in a role that was supposedly expanded from a cameo. He's meant to be diabolic but instead comes across as just plain smug.