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:

Universal reportedly paid $5 million to acquire the North American distribution rights of this movie.

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:

HOW TO MAKE A MONSTER

This is one to watch.

Rated:PG Runtime:94mins Release Date:2000

Federal Agent Joel Campbell thought leaving behind his old life would mean leaving behind his worst nightmare, but unfortunately for Joel Campbell, his worst nightmare didn't want to leave him behind.

The Watcher stars James Spader as F.B.I. agent Joel Campbell, an elite special agent who always got the job done. But then along came his worst nightmare, serial killer David Allen Griffen (Keanu Reeves in a surprisingly solid performance), an elusive and brilliant serial killer, who preys on innocent women at night and seemingly can't be caught. He's a methodical Killer who knows his work. He's detailed at everything his work involves, including the ins and outs of police procedure. After a year of trying to outsmart this sophisticated killer and always being one step behind, Joel decides to give up and head to Chicago. Here he hopes that maybe he can forget Griffen and his nightmares. But Griffen doesn't want to forget, so he follows Campbell to Chicago to continue their relationship and the killing. While trying to cloud himself in a haze of dependant drugs and self pity, Campbell is forced back in to the game of cat and mouse when Griffen starts sending him pictures of the women he's going to kill. Only this time Griffen puts a new spin on this particular game. Now, instead of just murdering the women, Griffen gives Campbell a chance to save the women, by sending him pictures of his potential victims twelve hours before they actually become his victims.

The Watcher isn't a first rate, edge of your seat thriller, but that's okay because I think making it a well made and stylish thriller was the actual intent of Director Joe Charbaniz. This solid mid-budget (by Hollywood standards) thriller boasts some great performances by star Spader, and Academy Award nominee Marisa Tomei, who in the film stars as Spader's psychiatrist, Dr Polly Bellman. But it also has Keanu Reeves showing the best acting display of his carrer in my opinion (maybe because he doesn't have many lines, I'm not really sure), as the demented killer, Griffen. Now for me, and I'm sure for a few other movie fans, there is an added bonus of having Ernie Hudson in it as a Police Chief. I find this an extra treat because I haven't seen Ernie in many A list movies lately, and I find he just has a way of sprucing them up. Charbaniz also used an innovative cat and mouse style due to the fact that it's not so much chase scenes, but duelings of the mind. However, I did find some of the slow motion camera work they used while Reeves was stalking around to be a bit much.

Writers David Elliot and Darcy Meyers put together a well made story with the underlining idea that good is nothing without evil, using two men as the message. It also has a few good encounters between Spader and Reeves in which you're actually able to see how these characters are driven in to the relationship they have with one another. I do, however, have to discredit one bit of the movie, where Spader and the police force are looking for a woman who is intended to be the next victim and no one seems to know who she is, or have even seen her for that matter, even though she works in a huge shopping mall where thousands of people dwell everyday. Especially corny is a scene in which they are in the mall looking for her while she is literally standing right beside them, but not one of the ten or so officers turns his or her head for even a second to actually see her.

Aside from being bogged down by a few minor details, this fast paced thriller, with style to spare, does work on many different levels and in my opinion is certainly worth a rent. It's a little more sharp then most of its preceeding thrill movies (including Kiss the Girls) even though it's storyline is not overly original. However you can sit through this whole movie and not have a bad aftertaste left in your mouth, which is a lot more then I can say for most of Hollywood's recent releases. So, if you want a little excitement from your entertainment for the evening, don't expect too much from the Watcher and just watch it.

Overall Rating: 7 out of 10