1999
Cast: Denzil Washington, Angelina Jolie, Queen Latifah, Michael Rooker, Luis Guzman, Leland Orser, Ed O'Neil
Genre: Crime Thriller
Worldwide Box Office Gross: $151 million
'Sweet Little (Murder) Mystery'
Based on the novel by Jeffrey Deaver, The Bone Collector follows Lincoln Rhyme: a paraplegic forensic specialist, an NYPD homicide investigator and a team of police officers that include beat-patrol rookie cop Amelia (Angelina Jolie) and Paulie (Ed O'Neil) in their hunt and capture of a serial killer, after a string of mysterious murders in and around New York crop up.
With a slow-moving plot, the film managed to keep me glued and engaged to the suspense that it had me on the edge of my seat despite the unravelling of the serial killer, which might have thrown a lot of people off. But it made the story even more intense and entertaining to watch. The more the film went on, the more I got into the plot, as you and I wondered what might happen next. Both Denzel and Angelina gave impressive turns in their roles, Lincoln and Amelia as we see in action two performers, way before they reached mega-stardom, looking assured as they carried this movie from beginning to end.
One of Angelina Jolie's earlier performances on the big screen, she was relatively unknown at this time, it is also one of her most impressive; as Amelia, she is given a lot to do and plays a significant role in the story, and whilst Denzel is bed-bound 99% of the time in this film, as Lincoln he still manages to dig deep and aid Amelia. Given that he spends so much time unable to move about, he has to rely a lot on his nurse, Thelma (Queen Latifah) and Amelia. This plot device enabled the film to be better and feel not as conventional as other serial killer-based crime thrillers.
It's not as graphically shocking nor exceedingly violent as Se7en and The Silence of the Lambs, although The Bone Collector appears to be going for the typical movie-going audience demographic, given the strength of the main leads; the headline double act in Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie illicit good chemistry and they came across as believable and convincing as their characters. To this day, it still holds up well. Phillip Noyce (responsible for the Patriot Games & Clear and Present Danger, and lest we can forget, The Saint and the sleaze fest, Sliver) might have stated he wasn't a fan of this movie and felt as if he was part of an assembly line of 1990s psychological thrillers.
The Bone Collector has become one of my favourite thrillers that doubles up as a reasonably tense, solid and satisfying cat-and-mouse murder mystery with insightful characters, an impressive cast, and a somewhat convincing villain to boot. It works thanks to the kills, surprising plot twists and gripping tension. It needed real panic and urgency, and the kills, which, whilst they were all right, required to have been more gory and gruesome. I was also a little baffled by the killer's motivations after his identity was revealed; it resulted in more questions than answers.
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Final Verdict:
The 1990s was an interesting period for film, especially for thrillers and they were all the rage; lots of great ones, some not-so-good ones, and some films that flew under the radar and went unnoticed. Whilst The Bone Collector is no masterpiece and is also cliched, it is a different spin on the serial killer concept, further elevated by Angelina Jolie and Denzel Washington.
Overall:
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