UNTRACEABLE

Unmotivated, unoriginal, uninspiring ...

By Harry Vaughn

del.ico.us | digg it! | reddit!

print | email | 0 Comments

Untraceable is a dumbed-down technological Silence of the Lambs knockoff that strives for big ideas despite the ineptitude of Gregory Hoblit's direction. It's that rare bad movie one expects to break free from its B-movie barriers at any moment and become something of greater weight and importance. However, Untraceable is simply too poorly executed and too shamelessly clichéd to become anything more than a borderline atrocious piece of horror movie trash.

Why the beautiful and talented Diane Lane thought it was a good idea to take on the film's starring role is an enigma, but I have a hunch that she saw something all too familiar in the character of FBI agent Jennifer Marsh. She's a single, fiercely independent female detective whose job is to hunt down an internet stalking sociopath who knows more about her than she initially thinks. If this reminds you of another fiercely independent female detective by the name of Clarice Starling, you're spot-on. This is Jodie Foster's groundbreaking role replicated, but this time around, Marsh doesn't have a Hannibal Lecter to deepen her psychological makeup and unearth the dark and personal aspects of her past. What we have instead is a serial killer by the name of Owen Reilly (Joseph Cross), a whining, self-absorbed pubescent pussy who tortures his victims based on how many people sign on to his website and watch. Though the conceit of these killings strikes a relevant chord surrounding information-age voyeurism, the film's concept rarely materializes onto the screen, mainly because the cat and mouse dynamic between Marsh and Reilly never develops. For the majority of the film, Lane sits at her computer watching Reilly kill victim after victim without ever gaining a credible insight into his motives and patterns of behavior. This is an FBI procedural thriller without an ounce of character analysis or fact-based evidence. Lane and her colleagues speak in computer geek lingo throughout in an effort to cover up the fact that there is nothing of substance being discussed; nothing that will reveal new and challenging information or make us second-guess our assumptions about a given character.

Lane, for her part, does a nice job of instilling both force and fragility into her role, but one can't help but feel that her skills as an actress only make Untraceable look more shallow and foolish than it already is. This is a performance made for a finer film; one that cares as much about its characters as it does about the overall competence of its storytelling.

AMC Loews Boston Common, Regal Fenway Stadium, Circle Cinemas, Fresh Pond, Showcase Cinemas Revere