The Bone Collector
USA 1999
Reviewed by Jason Drake
Synopsis
Our synopses give away the plot in full, including surprise twists.
The present. Manhattan police detective Lincoln Rhyme, an expert on serial killers, is injured in a freak accident while attending a crime scene. Left a quadriplegic as a result, he is confined to his apartment bed where he relies heavily on his nurse Thelma and life-support machines. Depressed by his condition, Rhyme arranges for his doctor to assist him in taking his own life. Meanwhile, beat-patrol cop Amelia Donaghy discovers the body of a man who was abducted with his wife. Her quick thinking preserves some key evidence at the crime scene. Rhyme's boss brings the evidence to him and asks for his help in catching the killer. Initially he refuses, but after seeing the evidence Rhyme becomes interested and asks to see Donaghy. Rhyme persuades her to work the case with him, but they fail to stop the dead man's wife being killed.
After a third victim is found the case is taken out of Rhyme and Donaghy's hands, but the investigation fails to locate the killer. Frustrated, the pair review the evidence which leads them to another murder at the river side. At the crime scene Donaghy realises the killer is now targeting Rhyme. Rushing back to his apartment she saves Rhyme by shooting the killer, who a cardiac-unit technician. Later, a more positive Rhyme welcomes visitors to a Christmas party at his apartment.
Review
Having made the disastrous high-octane action-movie version of The Saint, mainstream journeyman Phillip Noyce returns to the thriller genre with The Bone Collector, a film as mediocre as his earlier Sliver. The story of a quadriplegic detective called Lincoln Rhyme who co-ordinates the hunt for a serial killer, it owes an obvious debt to Se7en and Copycat. And after so many recent films on the same subject it's difficult to see The Bone Collector as anything more than an undistinguished addition to a slightly jaded genre. We've seen the rain-soaked, claustrophobic city before. We understand a number of victims have to be grimly dispatched by the killer before he (always a he) is caught. We know it's only a matter of time before the killer turns his attention to the detective, and so on. The film half-heartedly reconfigures a few of the traditional elements, but not in an interesting or original way. For instance, the role of the detective is split in two, with Amelia Donaghy acting as Rhyme's pupil and surrogate legs. But still the film is more focused on the chase than on the pursuers.
There is a slackness to the film's narrative structure. Why the killer collects bones or why he even bothers to murder his victims when his target all along is actually Rhyme is never explained. And the ending - where two hours of grim bleakness and grinding pessimism are suddenly replaced by a short, would-be uplifting scene as everyone gathers at Rhyme's apartment, accompanied by Peter Gabriel's 'Don't Give Up' - is particularly unconvincing.
Denzel Washington is an actor of enormous grace, glowing with sexual charisma, so the physically immobile Rhyme marks a noticeable departure from his previous roles. His restriction might have been used more effectively to overturn the convention of an athletic, physically powerful hero. But again the film chooses an easier path, preferring instead to make a banal point about the possibility for optimism when faced with a personal handicap.
Another case of the film running scared from its own shadow is the way it sets up a possible relationship between white Donaghy and black Rhyme and then sidesteps it completely. Although the pair do begin to show a degree of affection (in one scene where he surreptitiously smells her hair and in another where she strokes Rhyme's only moveable finger while he is unconscious), at the end it's not even clear whether they are just close professionally or if a romance is in place.
The film is often overly grim just to gain attention. Noyce concentrates on the murders in greater detail than usual, so that we get to see or experience more than we expect or want of the terror and pain of the victims as they are killed in increasingly distressing ways. But there is also an underlying sense of melancholy running through the film. Both Rhyme and Donaghy are introduced as depressed people: Rhyme wants to kill himself rather than be left in a persistent vegetative state by one of his increasingly frequent seizures, Donaghy is unable to commit to a relationship and is disenchanted with her work.
Ultimately, the film fails to come up with anything approaching a new take on the standard serial-killer thriller (of which we've seen so many examples of late) other than a few shock effects. In one scene a handful of street manhole covers are blown into the air by an underground explosion, a scene that Noyce obviously took a liking to since he repeats it a second time, a pointless use of intense volume and physical impact typical of the film as a whole.
Credits
- Director
- Phillip Noyce
- Producers
- Martin Bregman
- Louis A. Stroller
- Michael Bregman
- Screenplay
- Jeremy Iacone
- Based on the book by
- Jeffery Deaver
- Director of Photography
- Dean Semler
- Editor
- William Hoy
- Production Designer
- Nigel Phelps
- Music
- Craig Armstrong
- ©Universal Studios and Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc.
- Production Companies
- Columbia Pictures and Universal Pictures present a Bregman production
- Executive Producers
- Michael Klawitter
- Dan Jinks
- Associate Producer
- Bo Dietl
- Production Co-ordinators
- Montreal Crew:
- Danielle Boucher
- New York Crew:
- Lois Otto
- Production Managers
- Christina Kontos
- New York:
- Jan Foster
- Unit Managers
- Montreal Crew:
- Jim Kontos
- Montreal 2nd Unit:
- Gilles Perreault
- Location Managers
- Montreal Crew Supervisor:
- Céline Daignault
- Montreal Crew:
- François Fauteux
- New York Crew:
- Deb Parker
- Post-production
- London Co-ordinator:
- Jeanette Haley
- London Consultant:
- Steve Harrow
- 2nd Unit Directors
- Robert Grasmere
- Montreal 2nd Unit:
- Jonathan Goldman
- Assistant Directors
- Noga Isackson
- Anne Alloucherie
- New York:
- Kristin Cameron Bernstein
- Ken Brown
- Naomi Cromwell
- Noreen Cheleden
- Montreal:
- Simon-Edouard Pilon
- Buck Deachman
- Christopher Bregman
- Simon Dugas
- New York 2nd Unit:
- John Gallagher
- Patrick J. Mangan
- Montreal 2nd Unit:
- Charles-André Bertrand
- Script Supervisors
- Montreal Crew:
- Monique Champagne
- New York Crew:
- Barbara Stoia
- New York 2nd Unit:
- Catherine Gore
- Casting
- Bernard Telsey
- William Cantler
- David Vaccari
- Canadian:
- Andrea Kenyon
- Myriam Vezina
- ADR Voice:
- Barbara Harris
- Additional Photography
- Montreal Crew:
- Michael Benson
- London Post-production:
- Tony Pierce-Roberts
- 2nd Unit Director of Photography
- Montreal:
- Geoffrey Erb
- New York:
- Craig Haagensen
- Rostrum/Photography
- London Post-production:
- Digirama
- Camera Operators
- Montreal Crew:
- David Crone
- New York Crew:
- Wayne Paul
- Tyler Mount Operator
- New York Crew:
- Alan Harris
- Steadicam Operator
- Montreal Crew:
- David Crone
- Computer Graphic Design
- Montreal Crew:
- Video Assist Inc
- Playback Operators:
- Andrew Lapierre
- Iohann Martin
- Shawn Bonkowski
- Yann Mongrain
- Computer Graphic Designers:
- Yannick Lablanc
- Frédéric Roberge
- Jean-Philippe Lafortune
- Steve Gagné
- François Arsenault
- Eric Vennettilli
- Steven Santos
- Visual Effects Supervisor
- London post-production:
- Robert Grasmere
- Visual Effects/Animation
- The Computer Film Company
- Visual Effects Producer:
- Rachael Penfold
- Digital Visual Effects Supervisor:
- Mark Nelmes
- CG Lead Animator:
- Dominic Parker
- Compositing Artists:
- Tom Debenham
- Gavin Toomey
- Jon Thum
- Paddy Eason
- CG Animators:
- Stephen Murphy
- Dan Glass
- Richard Clarke
- Hannah Walker
- Digital Paint Artist:
- Alex Payman
- Visual Effects Line Producer:
- Libby Hazell
- Visual Effects Editorial:
- Tabitha Dean
- Roz Lowrie
- Studio Manager:
- Darrel Griffin
- Scanning/Recording:
- Jan Hogevold
- Montreal Crew
- Special Effects
- Les Productions de l'Intrigue
- Louis Craig
- Technicians:
- Mario Dumont
- Pierre Côté
- Special Effects Coordinator
- New York Crew:
- Steve Kirshoff
- Model Supervisor
- Montreal Crew:
- Ronny Gosselin
- Chief Model Maker
- Montreal Crew:
- Patrick Lee
- Model Makers
- Montreal Crew:
- Patrice Jacques
- Cory Fantie
- François Laliberté
- Geoffroy Platt
- Benôit Sauvageau
- Jean-François Plourde
- Céline Turcotte
- Graphics Design
- Montreal Crew:
- Carl Lessard
- Motion Control
- Montreal Crew:
- Camera E-Motion
- Marc Côté
- Nickolas Landry
- Daniel Coupal
- Stephane Caron
- Robert Grenier
- Additional Editor
- LA Post-production:
- Andrew S. Eisen
- Supervising Art Directors
- Montreal Crew:
- Claude Paré
- New York Crew:
- Jeff Sage
- Set Decorators
- Montreal Crew:
- Marie-Claude Gosselin
- New York Crew:
- Harriet Zucker
- Set Decor
- New York Crew:
- Vito Balenzano
- Mark Bendit
- John Bober
- Pierre Chabo
- Léo Dumont
- Pierre Cheminat
- James Sanchez
- Jacques Leroux
- Serge Thibault
- Gilles Emond
- Julie Marion
- Franco Zoccali
- Draftsmen
- Montreal Crew:
- Simon Guilbault
- Matthew Gray
- Joseph Lang Browns
- Louis-René Landry
- Storyboard Artist
- Montreal Crew:
- Alex Maleev
- Costume Designer
- Odette Gadoury
- Costume Supervisor
- Montreal Crew:
- Danièle Léger
- Wardrobe Co-ordinator
- Montreal Crew:
- Lyse Pomerleau
- Wardrobe Mistress
- Montreal Crew:
- Suzanne Gingras
- Wardrobe Supervisors
- New York Crew:
- Deirdre Williams
- Lisa Frucht
- New York 2nd Unit:
- Pamela Aaron
- Make-up Artists
- Montreal Crew, Key:
- Kathryn Casault
- Carl Fullerton
- Janeen Schreyer
- New York Crew:
- Kymbra Callaghan
- Head Prosthetics Artist
- Montreal Crew:
- Adrien Morot
- Hair Stylists
- Montreal Crew, Key:
- Réjean Forget
- Montreal Crew:
- Larry Cherry
- Robert Allicock
- New York Crew:
- Roy Bryson
- Title Design
- LA Post-production:
- Robert Dawson
- Digital Main Titles
- Digiscope
- Opticals
- Cinema Research Corporation
- London Post-production:
- General Screen Enterprises
- Vocals
- Catherine Bott
- Percussion
- Luis Jardin
- Pete Lockett
- Programmer/Keyboards
- Stephen Hilton
- Conductor
- Cecilia Weston
- Additional Orchestrations
- Matt Dunkley
- Music Supervisor
- George Acogny
- Music Co-ordinators
- Sarah Dolan
- Emma Ford
- Joe Fischer
- Music Editor
- LA Post-production:
- Joe E. Rand
- Music Engineer
- Geoff Foster
- Soundtrack
- "Juicy" by George Acogny, Kamil Rustam, performed by Gaïnde; "The Touch (le toucher)" by George Acogny, Mitsou Gelinas, Kamil Rustam, performed by Mitsou; "McKenzie" by Craig Armstrong, Marius DeVries, performed by Craig Armstrong; "Bed of Nails" by/performed by Joseph Arthur; "Don't Give Up" by Peter Gabriel, Kate Bush, performed by Peter Gabriel
- Production Sound Mixers
- Montreal Crew:
- Simon Kaye
- New York Crew:
- Allan Byer
- Re-recording Mixers
- LA Post-production
- John Reitz
- Dave Campbell
- Gregg Rudloff
- Supervising. Sound Editors
- LA Post-production:
- Bruce Stambler
- London Post-production:
- Martin Cantwell
- Digital Sound Editors
- LA Post-production:
- Bernard Weiser
- Don Warner
- Richard Yawn
- Steve Nelson
- Dialogue Editor
- London Post-production:
- Chris Ackland
- ADR
- LA Post-production Supervisor:
- Jessica Gallavan
- LA Post-production Mixers:
- Doc Kane
- Alan Holly
- Foley
- LA Post-production Supervisor:
- Michael Dressel
- Artists:
- Dan O'Connell
- John Cucci
- Mixer:
- James Ashwill
- Recordist:
- Linda Lew
- London Post-production Editor:
- Jacques Leroide
- Forensic Consultant
- New York Crew:
- Hal Sherman
- Stunt Co-ordinators
- Jery Hewitt
- Michael Scherer
- Jean Frenette
- Mike Russo
- Armourer
- Montreal Crew:
- Cold Blue Rental
- Animal Handlers
- Montreal Crew:
- Pete White
- Mark Adam
- Helicopter Pilot
- New York Crew:
- Al Cerullo
- Cast
- Denzel Washington
- Lincoln Rhyme
- Angelina Jolie
- Amelia Donaghy
- Queen Latifah
- Thelma
- Michael Rooker
- Captain Howard Cheney
- Mike McGlone
- Detective Kenny Solomon
- Luis Guzmán
- Eddie Ortiz
- Leland Orser
- Richard Thompson
- John Benjamin Hickey
- Dr Barry Lehman
- Ed O'Neill
- Detective Paulie Sellitto
- Bobby Cannavale
- Steve
- Richard Zeman
- Lieutenant Carl Hanson
- Olivia Birkelund
- Lindsay Rubin
- Gary Swanson
- Alan Rubin
- Jim Bulleit
- train engineer
- Frank Fontaine
- grandfather
- Zena Grey
- granddaughter
- Daniel C. Brochu
- NYU student
- Desmond Campbell
- taxi inspector
- Christian Veliz
- young boy
- Mercedes Gomez
- Ortiz's mother
- Mary Hammett
- girlfriend in nightclub
- Amanda Gay
- girl in nightclub
- Steve Adams
- Larry Day
- gas workers
- Burke Lawrence
- police instructor
- Terry Simpson
- Eric Davis
- cops in apartment
- Arthur Holden
- bookstore clerk
- Yashmin Daviault
- Rhyme's sister
- Keenan MacWilliam
- Rhyme's niece
- David Warshofsky
- Amelia's partner
- Mateo Gomez
- hot dog vendor
- Ted Whittall
- Ortiz's assistant
- Peter Michael Dillon
- homicide detective
- Jonathan Stark
- male detctive
- Fulvio Cecere
- forensics expert
- Hal Sherman
- fingerprint cop
- Russell Yuen
- forensics worker
- Andy Bradshaw
- uniform cop
- Jean Marc Bisson
- Christopher Bregman
- rescue workers
- Sonya Biddle
- nurse
- [uncredited]
- Phillip Noyce
- antiquarian bookshop customer
- Certificate
- 18
- Distributor
- Columbia Tristar Films (UK)
- 10,600 feet
- 117 minutes 47 seconds
- Dolby digital surround Ex/Digital DTS sound/SDDS
- Colour by
- DeLuxe
- Super 35 [2.35:1]