To Catch a Killer

Directed by Damián Szifron, To Catch a Killer follows several characters, including Shailene Woodley’s Eleanor Falco and Ben Mendelsohn’s Geoffrey Lammark, as they attempt to prevent a mass killer from striking again. Filmmaker Szifron delivers an exceedingly familiar endeavor that does, for the most part, remain surprisingly watchable, and it’s clear, certainly, that the movie benefits from an engrossing opening stretch that effectively (and instantly) captures the viewer’s interest and attention – with the relatively compelling atmosphere heightened by Javier Julia’s sinister cinematography and a pair of terrific, engrossing lead performances. There’s little doubt, then, that To Catch a Killer‘s overall impact is dulled by a hit-and-miss midsection that boasts more than a few questionable elements, including a less-than-subtle emphasis on Eleanor’s efforts at fitting in with her male colleagues and clumsy, on-the-nose instances of dialogue, while the often excessively generic bent of Szifron and Jonathan Wakeham’s screenplay does remain a distraction virtually from start to finish. (It helps, then, that Szifron has peppered the narrative with impressively engrossing jolts, including a violent interlude set within a busy mall and a shootout inside a convenience store.) By the time the admittedly intriguing climactic stretch rolls around, To Catch a Killer has confirmed its place as a decent-enough thriller that feels like a throwback to the similarly-themed fare of the 1990s.

**1/2 out of ****