The Watcher (2000/I)

Director:

Joe Charbanic

Writers (WGA):

Darcy Meyers (story) and
David Elliot (story) ...

Release Date:

8 September 2000 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Don't go home alone.

Plot:

David Allen Griffin is a cool killer- time and time again, he chooses a female victim, studies her for...

Plot Keywords:

Serial Killer | Stalking By Night | Fast Motion Sequence | Police Chase | Cemetery

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

James Spader	...	Joel Campbell
Keanu Reeves	...	David Allen Griffin
Marisa Tomei	...	Dr. Polly Beilman
Ernie Hudson	...	Ibby
Chris Ellis	...	Hollis
Robert Cicchini	...	Mitch Casper
Yvonne Niami	...	Lisa Anton
Jenny McShane	...	Diana (as Jennifer McShane)
Gina Alexander	...	Sharon
Rebekah Louise Smith	...	Ellie
Joseph Sikora	...	Skater (as Joe Sikora)
Jill Peterson	...	Jessica (as Jillian Peterson)
Michele DiMaso	...	Rachel (as Michelle Dimaso)
Andrew Rothenberg	...	Jack Fray
David Pasquesi	...	Norton

Also Known As:

Driven (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for violence and language.

Runtime:

97 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

South Korea:15 | Philippines:PG-13 | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | Chile:18 | Finland:K-15 | France:U | Germany:16 | Hong Kong:IIB | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:R16 | Norway:15 | Peru:18 | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Company:

Interlight

Trivia:

In the opening scene, Keanu Reeves dances to the Rob Zombie song "Dragula" while doing kung fu moves behind green lighting. This is a homage to his previous blockbuster, The Matrix (1999).

Goofs:

Factual errors: Towards the end of the film, right before Griffin shoots Campbell with the shotgun, we see a close-up of the Glock pistol that Campbell is holding. You can clearly see that the barrel is plugged with only a small hole showing. This is obviously a prop gun, most likely a BB gun.

Quotes:

David Allen Griffin: [to Dr. Polly Beilman] Do you think... some of your patients might pay to come see you because... you're very pretty.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Not Another Teen Movie (2001)

Soundtrack:

6 UNDERGROUND

The interaction between Keanu Reeves, James Spader and Marisa Tomei make this film

The relationship between the characters in the Watcher sets it apart from other serial killer movies. In fact, I would have liked another 15 minutes in the movie to bring out those relationships even more. I would have liked a little more elaboration on what happened in the past between James Spader and Keanu Reeves. Also, I wish the movie had shown part of the session between the Psychologist, played by Marisa Tomei, and the serial killer, played by Keanu Reeves. Marisa Tomei's facial reaction to Keanu Reeves' comment prior to the session was perfect. "Do clients come to see you because you are good or because you are very pretty." (Line by Reeves to Tomei - maybe not verbatum)

Keanu Reeves plays David Griffin very well. This is another example showing how Keanu Reeves can take any character and make it both believable and likeable to some extent. Both Reeves and Spader display the need for each other by the end of the film. Yes, I did detect at least a professional need by Spader for Reeves in the Watcher. So did Marisa Tomei I think. This movie had both a good balance of a crime drama, with the police and car chase scenes, and strong character development. My only complaint is like others have said on this board, I felt it was rushed.