Untraceable Review
By David Kempler
Silence of the Lambs Junior
Director Gregory Hoblit goes back and forth between both directing and producing and film and television. He has certainly enjoyed success but with "Untraceable" he has created a crackling good psychological thriller and those types of movies are tough to come by these days. The last great one I remember was "Silence of the Lambs". This doesn't rise to that lofty plateau but it is a welcome relief from what currently passes for tension and horror at your local theater. It is a little bit cookie-cutter, but just a little.
Jennifer Marsh (Diane Lane) is an FBI agent whose job centers on tracking down cyber crime. Everything about the early scenes leads you to believe that what will follow will be similar to an episode of a television show that will wrap up everything neatly in a bow in 53 minutes but there are turns that the audience cannot totally expect and these turns are handled with unusual intelligence and restraint.
The look, mood and story of "Untraceable" is dark, as in the darkness inside our hearts and in our media. There is a message here but it is the only thing that falls a bit flat, mostly because of its being pounded into our skulls in the latter parts of the film. Ignore it.
Owen Reilly (Joseph Cross) does a nice job as the psycho of the moment. He looks sort of like a demented leprechaun, with one of those almost innocent faces, except for the crazed eyes, which all good movie psychos should possess to at least some degree.
Certainly we know from the start that eventually it will be up to Ms. Marsh to face off with Mr. Reilly up close and personal. We also know that some characters will have to be sacrificed for the good of the show but despite knowing these things, Hoblit makes it all chug along at a very nice clip. The entire time there is an edge to everything, a tension that peaks and valleys but never quite disappears. There is none of the stupid humorous banter that usually permeates stories like these, thankfully.
I wish I could tell you that it is the new "Silence of the Lambs" but that it isn't. For one thing there is no one quite up to the snuff of Anthony Hopkins, but that is nitpicking and unfair. "Untraceable" is a solid psychological thriller. If only there were more like it, but there I go nitpicking again. Enjoy.
