zif ofoz This is one odd murder mystery of a movie and it kept me riveted to the plot line. And the plot and the action and the characters can be a bit of a challenge to keep pace with.The multiple folds in the presentation of the past murders and the present murders throughout the movie; and when detective Aubray is teaching the characteristics of a murder scene to his pupils is fascinating! You can see how he is both teaching his students what he knows and analyzing his current investigation pulling on his knowledge of serial murderers. He is also a student - not just the teacher.The down side to this movie is that most unsatisfying ending - he has become the art of the murderer he just shot! Both are dead now - which one won? Was there a winner? The ending is left up to you.

p-stepien Willem Dafoe plays Stan Aubray, a detective hunting for a supposedly copycat serial killer with a knack for art. His murders are his art. As was with the original killer - someone named Uncle Eddie by the press. But that was 5 years ago. The killer was tracked down and found dead in his apartment. Or was he? Willem Dafoe as always excels in the role of a rundown pedantic detective haunted by the past. This is basically his movie, so it is him that makes the movie watchable and engaging. Stan Aubray feels very dysfunctional and his disregard for his colleagues leads him to have a very vague working relationship with his peers. The crimes are gruesome and nicely presented - a far cry from '7even' with a similar feel to the ways crimes are filmed. The movie is very dark and almost claustrophobic, especially conveying a feeling that the truth hides somewhere in the darkness and what is seen is only a fragment of reality.All in all quite involving. But somehow lacking... The end result feels disjointed with most characters not properly presented (except for Aubray). Also for a movie focused around a murderer the serial killer seems dull and uninteresting (maybe this was a deliberate ploy - it is his art that matters, not him himself?). There isn't much as far as explanation as to motives are concerned, but this is especially problematic because we never really get a feeling why Dafoe's character is so key to the murderer's overall plan.

petit76 you must be seeing my comments over many films under Evren Buyruk ..I am off to make another comment over a movie that is not even worth a minute of talking though..This film is basically two hours of Dafoe's character drinking himself - nearly literally - to death. The only surprise in this film is that you didn't have enough clues or character knowledge to be surprised. It was just a grim, sad waste of time.Willem Dafoe is excellent actor. Peter Stormare is an excellent actor. But this film just sucked. Slow doesn't make the movie bad, it was just bad. The sketchy plot mixed with artistic ramblings of anamorphic detail aren't cohesively drawn together in a meaningful way for a plot except to highlight some gore which is illustrated from several perspectives, finally at the end. I really appreciate the artistic vision, but as entertainment, it put me to sleep. (Seriously, I fell asleep and had to re-watch the film - which was even more disappointing.) I generally don't like to make negative comments or reviews on the works of others, even when they suck, but this film warranted one. It's just too bad that these great actors were shamed with this end result.

P Allen Brown This film is basically two hours of Dafoe's character drinking himself - nearly literally - to death. The only surprise in this film is that you didn't have enough clues or character knowledge to be surprised. It was just a grim, sad waste of time.Willem Dafoe is excellent actor. Peter Stormare is an excellent actor. But this film just sucked. Slow doesn't make the movie bad, it was just bad. The sketchy plot mixed with artistic ramblings of anamorphic detail aren't cohesively drawn together in a meaningful way for a plot except to highlight some gore which is illustrated from several perspectives, finally at the end. I really appreciate the artistic vision, but as entertainment, it put me to sleep. (Seriously, I fell asleep and had to re-watch the film - which was even more disappointing.)I generally don't like to make negative comments or reviews on the works of others, even when they suck, but this film warranted one. It's just too bad that these great actors were shamed with this end result.