Murder by Numbers is a 2002 psychological thriller film produced and directed by Barbet
Schroeder. It stars Sandra Bullock, Ben Chaplin, Ryan Gosling and Michael Pitt. It is loosely
based on the Leopold and Loeb case. The film was screened out of competition at
the 2002 Cannes Film Festival.
Plot Richard Haywood, a wealthy and popular high-schooler,
secretly teams up with another rich kid in his class, brilliant nerd Justin "Bonaparte"
Pendleton. His erudition, especially in forensic matters, allows them to plan elaborately perfect
murders as a perverse form of entertainment. Meeting in a deserted resort, they drink absinthe,
smoke, and joke around, but pretend to have an adversarial relationship while at school.
Justin, in particular, behaves strangely, writing a paper about how crime is freedom
and vice versa, and creating a composite photograph of himself and Richard.
The young men kill a woman and set up Richard's marijuana supplier, janitor Ray Feathers,
as a psychotic serial killer. They then incinerate all evidence. The case is assigned to Detective
Cassie Mayweather and her new partner, Sam Kennedy, who just transferred from the vice
squad. They work together well, and begin a romantic relationship very early on in their
partnership. Footprints found at the crime scene lead to Richard Haywood, who has an
alibi. Cassie becomes seemingly obsessed with the idea that Richard is guilty, and refuses
to pursue the case from other angles. This displeases Captain Rod Cody and Cassie's vindictive
ex, Assistant D.A. Al Swanson, who becomes nervous due to the clout held by Richard's
parents. False forensic evidence planted on the body
by Justin, including a baboon hair, lead police to the janitor, who keeps a baboon in his
shed. The baboon attacks Cassie, causing her to be hospitalized. Meanwhile, Richard kills
the janitor in a staged suicide. Sam and Cassie fall out over differences in their professional
attitudes towards the investigation, and Captain Cody bans Cassie from pursuing the investigation
further when she disobeys instructions. Justin is interested in his classmate Lisa
Mills, and ignores Richard in order to go on a date with her. Richard sees them kissing,
becomes jealous, and shows Justin a tape of Lisa having sex with Richard. This enrages
Justin, who destroys the composite photo, but regains control of his emotions and remains
friends with Richard. Determined to prove that Richard and Justin in fact know each
other and are guilty, Cassie secretly takes pictures of them together. However, Richard
sees her, and attempts to frighten her by seducing her. To protect herself, Cassie hits
Richard in the face. Richard's father contacts Captain Cody, who decides that Cassie must
see a psychiatrist. However, Sam decides that Cassie may be right, and further investigates
the case. It is revealed that Cassie herself was the
victim of attempted murder by her abusive ex-husband, Carl Hudson, who had been her
high school sweetheart. Various flashbacks show Cassie's ordeal. Although she was found
alive, she has scars on her chest from her wounds. Carl is in jail, and Cassie is trying
to escape testifying at his upcoming parole hearing.
Sam and Cassie bring Richard and Justin in for interrogation. Using the Lisa Mills incident,
they try to convince the young men to confess, bribing them with a lighter sentence. Although
they know that both Richard and Justin were involved in the crime, they are unsure of
which of them actually killed the woman. The killer will be executed, while the accessory
will serve a lighter sentence. However, neither suspect is willing to talk, and they are released.
When Richard attempts to save himself by making a false "confession" to the DA, Cassie and
Sam decide to arrest both Richard and Justin immediately. The two flee to the resort, but
Justin first visits Lisa and admits what he did. Lisa calls the police and tells them
where to find Richard and Justin. Meanwhile, Richard gives Justin a pistol, and holds one
himself, stating they will both commit suicide. However, Justin discovers that Richard put
bullets into Justin's pistol, but not into his own. Cassie arrives, and tries to arrest
them. Justin surrenders, but Richard fires at Cassie but shoots Justin in the shoulder
as he pushes her away and flees upstairs. Cassie pursues Richard, who tricks her into
going out onto an unstable balcony. Richard strangles Cassie, but she fights back and
pushes him over the railing, and he falls to his death. But, before Cassie can get back
inside, the porch breaks. Justin saves her, and she tells him that he will likely get
a light sentence. When Cassie examines the strangulation marks
on her neck, she realizes that the marks on the dead woman's neck were not made by Richard.
Instead of Justin's being manipulated by Richard, as she had previously thought, Richard was
being manipulated by Justin, who was the actual killer. Cassie and Sam trick him into confessing.
Cassie then testifies at the parole hearing where she is called by her real name, Jessica
Marie Hudson. Cast
Sandra Bullock as Det. Cassie Mayweather Ben Chaplin as Det. Sam Kennedy
Ryan Gosling as Richard Haywood Michael Pitt as Justin Pendleton
Agnes Bruckner as Lisa Mills Chris Penn as Ray Feathers
R. D. Call as Capt. Rod Cody Tom Verica as A.D.A. Al Swanson
Box office performance The film was released April 19, 2002 in the
United States and Canada and grossed $9.3 million in 2,663 theaters its opening weekend,
ranking #3 at the box office. The film grossed a total of $56,714,147 worldwide — $31,945,749
in the United States and Canada and $24,768,398 in other territories.
Reception Reviews for the film were generally mixed
to negative. Rotten Tomatoes awarded a 31% "Rotten" based on 125 reviews, thirty-nine
being "fresh" with a consensus stating "A predictable police procedural that works better
as a character study rather than a thriller." Roger Ebert awarded three stars out of a possible
four with his own consensus, stating: "Bullock does a good job here of working against her
natural likability, creating a character you'd like to like, and could like, if she weren't
so sad, strange and turned in upon herself. She throws herself into police work not so
much because she's dedicated as because she needs the distraction, needs to keep busy
and be good to assure herself of her worth. As she draws the net closer, and runs into
more danger and more official opposition, the movie more or less helplessly starts thinking
to itself about that cliff above the sea, but at least the climax shows us that Bullock
can stay in character no matter what." References
External links Official website
Murder by Numbers at the Internet Movie Database Murder by Numbers at Box Office Mojo
Murder by Numbers at Rotten Tomatoes Murder by Numbers at Metacritic