Taking Lives (2004)

Director:

D.J. Caruso

Writers (WGA):

Michael Pye (novel)
Jon Bokenkamp (screen story)
(more)

Release Date:

19 March 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

He would kill to be you.

Plot:

An FBI profiler is called in by French Canadian police to catch a serial killer who takes on the identity of each new victim.

Plot Keywords:

FBI | Serial Killer | Profiler | Police | Exploding Car

Awards:

3 nominations

Cast

Angelina Jolie	...	Illeana
Ethan Hawke	...	Costa
Kiefer Sutherland	...	Hart
Gena Rowlands	...	Mrs. Asher
Olivier Martinez	...	Paquette
Tchéky Karyo	...	Leclair
Jean-Hugues Anglade	...	Duval
Paul Dano	...	Young Asher
Justin Chatwin	...	Matt Soulsby
André Lacoste	...	Cashier
Billy Two Rivers	...	Car Salesman
Richard Lemire	...	Québec City Cop
Julien Poulin	...	Québec City Inspector
Marie-Josée Croze	...	Medical Examiner
Christian Tessier	...	Interrogation Officer
Brigitte Bedard	...	French Reporter
Dominique Briand	...	Bartender
Alex Sol	...	Hotel Manager
Shawn Roberts	...	Desk Clerk
Martin Brisebois	...	Henri Bisonnette
Gabriel Charland-Gagné	...	Victim #1
Nathalie Matteau	...	Victim #2
Hugh Probyn	...	Victim #3
Henri Pardo	...	Officer Mann
Fabiano Amato	...	Waiter
Judith Baribeau	...	Mr. Costa's Assistant
Anne Marineau	...	Woman in Gallery
Eugenio 'Kiko' Osorio	...	Sandra & The Latin Groove
Jesus Alejandro Nino	...	Sandra & The Latin Groove
Lisandro Martinez	...	Sandra & The Latin Groove
Sandra Campanelli	...	Sandra & The Latin Groove
Emmanuel Bilodeau	...	Doctor
Vince Grant	...	Illeana's Hotel Manager
Freddy Bessa	...	Detective Roch
Andy Bradshaw	...	Officer Darabont
Steven Wallace Lowe	...	Man at Moncton Street
Marcel Jeannin	...	Train Man
Brett Watson	...	Clive Morin
David Eisner	...	Committee Head
Lois Dellar	...	Postal Clerk

Directed by
D.J. Caruso

Writing credits (WGA)
Michael Pye		(novel)
Jon Bokenkamp		(screen story)
Jon Bokenkamp		(screenplay)

Produced by
Bruce Berman	....	executive producer
Alan C. Blomquist	....	co-producer
Mark Canton	....	producer
Anna DeRoy	....	co-producer
Dana Goldberg	....	executive producer
Bernie Goldmann	....	producer
David Heyman	....	executive producer
Josette Perrotta	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Philip Glass

Cinematography by
Amir M. Mokri		(director of photography) (as Amir Mokri)

Film Editing by
Anne V. Coates

Casting by
Deborah Aquila
Mary Tricia Wood		(as Tricia Wood)

Production Design by
Tom Southwell

Art Direction by
Serge Bureau

Set Decoration by
Suzanne Cloutier
Anne Galéa
Amanda Moss Serino

Costume Design by
Marie-Sylvie Deveau

Makeup Department
Suzanne Benoit	....	hairdresser: Ms. Rowland
Barney Burman	....	special makeup effects artist: reshoots
Gillian Chandler	....	makeup artist
Bruno Gatien	....	prosthetics makeup artist
Colin Jamison	....	hairdresser: Ms. Jolie
Martin Jutras	....	prosthetics makeup artist (as Jutras Martin)
Kathy Kelso	....	makeup artist: extras
Denise Langelier	....	makeup artist: second unit
Martin Lapointe	....	hair stylist: extras
Jonathan Lavallée	....	prosthetics makeup artist
Adrien Morot	....	prosthetics makeup artist
Donald Mowat	....	makeup department head
Jennifer Bower O'Halloran	....	key hair stylist (as Jennifer O'Halloran)
Corrine Poizat	....	hair stylist: second unit (as Corinne Poizat)
Pina Rizzi	....	hair stylist
Janeen Schreyer	....	makeup artist: Ms. Jolie
Sylvania Yau	....	special makeup effects coordinator

Production Management
Alan C. Blomquist	....	unit production manager
Susan E. Novick	....	post-production supervisor
Gilles Perreault	....	unit manager
Josette Perrotta	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Anne Alloucherie	....	second assistant director
Fabrice Barrilliet	....	third assistant director
Alexandre Bernard	....	third assistant director: additional second unit
Stéphane Byl	....	assistant director
Albert Cho	....	first assistant director: second unit
Simon Dugas	....	third assistant director
Angèle Gagnon	....	second second assistant director: second unit
Agnieszka Kroskowska	....	second second assistant director (as Agnieszka Poninska)
Katrina Lee	....	second assistant director: second unit
Emilie Malo	....	third assistant director
Courtenay Miles	....	second assistant director: additional photography
Mic Rodgers	....	second unit director
David J. Webb	....	first assistant director

Art Department
Peter Bankins	....	property master: additional photography
Jerry Bingham	....	storyboard artist
Andre Brochu	....	construction supervisor
Michel Brochu	....	construction coordinator
Real Capuano	....	scenic technician
Louis Dandonneau	....	set dresser
Alain Omer Duranceau	....	props
Jose Holder	....	storyboard artist
Cindy Ichikawa	....	coordinator
Jean-François Kelahear	....	stand-by scenic painter
Étienne Lapointe-Proulx	....	property master (as Etienne Proulx)
Pierre L'Heureux	....	set designer
Michael O'Donnell	....	set dresser

Sound Department
Yann Delpuech	....	supervising dialogue & adr editor
Stefan Fraticelli	....	foley assistant
Robert Grieve	....	supervising sound editor
Craig Henighan	....	sound designer
Mark Johnston	....	sound recordist
E. Niles Klein	....	sound editorial technical consultant
Goro Koyama	....	foley artist
Claude La Haye	....	production sound mixer
Andy Malcolm	....	foley artist
Anna Malkin	....	foley recording assistant
Ron Malligers	....	foley mixer
Chris Navarro	....	adr recordist
John T. Reitz	....	sound re-recording mixer
Gregg Rudloff	....	sound re-recording mixer
Joseph Schultz	....	assistant sound editor
Meg Taylor	....	first assistant sound editor
Don White	....	foley recording mixer
Dan Yale	....	supervising foley editor
Kyle Alexander	....	post-production sound assistant (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Louis Craig	....	special effects supervisor
Gary D'Amico	....	special effects coordinator: Los Angeles
Normand Gobeille	....	special effects technician
Chris Jones	....	special effects technician
André Laforest	....	special effects coordinator
Virginie Léger	....	sfx dept coordinator
David A. Poole	....	special effects
Sebastien Roussel	....	firework suppervisor
Sebastien Roussel	....	pyrotechnician
Ken Rudell	....	special effects technician
Ryan Storm	....	special effects artist
Martin Williams	....	special effects rigger
Bernard Guay	....	special effects assistant (uncredited)
Christian Rivest	....	special effects technician (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Cheryl Bainum	....	executive producer: HATCH
Bret Culp	....	on-set supervisor
Deak Ferrand	....	matte painter: HATCH
Brian Hanable	....	digital effects compositor: Pacific Title
Dimitri Kaliviotis	....	special props: straw figurines maker
Tom Lamb	....	digital compositor
Patrick Phillips	....	visual effects
Rebecca Ramsey	....	visual effects producer: Hatch
David Sosalla	....	visual effects supervisor
James D. Tittle	....	digital visual effects coordinator: Pacific Title
Andrew C. Whitelaw	....	digital artist

Stunts
Guy Bews	....	stunt coordinator
Marcello Bezina	....	stunts
Eric Bryson	....	stunts
Richard Bucher	....	stunt double: Ethan Hawke (reshoots)
Stéphane Byl	....	stunt double
Alexandre Cadieux	....	stunts
Mike Chute	....	stunt driver
Marc Désourdy	....	stunts
Flint Eagle	....	stunt performer
Debbie Evans	....	stunts
Greg Fitzpatrick	....	stunts
Jean Frenette	....	stunt performer
Corry Glass	....	stunt double: Angelina Jolie
Tyler Hall	....	stunt performer
Kevin Kelsall	....	stunt performer
Patrick Kerton	....	stunts
Shawn Lane	....	utility stunts
Gilbert Larose Jr.	....	stunt performer
Stéphane Lefebvre	....	stunt double
Karine Lemieux	....	utility stunts
Manny Perry	....	stunt coordinator: Los Angeles
Alison Reid	....	stunts
David Rigby	....	stunts
John Ross	....	stunts
Javier Segura	....	stunt performer
Matthew Taylor	....	stunt double
Vanessa White	....	stunt double: Angelina Jolie
Geoff Williams	....	stunt performer
Brent Woolsey	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Eric Aubin	....	second assistant camera: "b" camera
Robert B. Baylis	....	key grip
Pierre Beaulieu	....	lighting technician
Stephane Boisvert	....	generator operator
Richard Boucher	....	grip: technocrane
Roch Boucher	....	second assistant camera
Greg Brooks	....	dolly grip: "b" camera: Los Angeles
Frédéric Chamberland	....	additional assistant camera
Carla Clarke	....	assistant camera
Joost Clerinx	....	grip
Jean Courteau	....	chief lighting technician
Renato Di Giuseppe	....	camera operator: "b" camera
Renato Di Giuseppe	....	director of photography: insert unit
Amelie Duceppe	....	film loader
Sylvaine Dufaux	....	camera operator: second unit
Jim Filippone	....	pilot: camera helicopter
Gilles Fortier	....	rigging gaffer
Eames Gagnon	....	gaffer: second unit
Julie Garceau	....	video assist operator
Chloe Giroux	....	second assistant camera
John Grillo	....	first assistant camera: "a" camera
Stephanie Girard Hamelin	....	video assist operator
Martin Lebel	....	first assistant camera: "b" camera
Eric Lefèbvre	....	rigging electrician
Kenneth MacKenzie	....	key grip
Alfonso Maiorana	....	camera operator: second unit
Alain Masse	....	dolly grip
Greg Mayer	....	set electrician: re-shoot
Don McCuaig	....	director of photography: second unit
Tim Merkel	....	Steadicam operator
Tim Merkel	....	camera operator: "a" camera
Christian Navennec	....	first assistant camera: "b" camera
Alex Nepomniaschy	....	cinematographer: additional photography
Colin Noel	....	rigger
Chris Pavlu	....	electrician
Craig Price	....	grip: Los Angeles
Mathieu Price	....	grip
David Reinhard	....	camera loader: second unit
Dale Robinette	....	still photographer
Takashi Seida	....	still photographer
Martin St-Antoine	....	key rigging grip
Paul Viau	....	best boy
Martine Vincent	....	grip
Chuck Weiss	....	digital video assist operator: additional photography

Casting Department
Gabriel Lavina	....	casting assistant: Montreal
Jennifer L. Smith	....	casting associate
Cathy Weiner	....	casting assistant

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Jean-François Desjardins	....	dresser: Ms. Jolie

Editorial Department
Julian Andraus	....	assistant editor
Bradford L. Dean	....	assistant editor
Dale E. Grahn	....	color timer
Mo Henry	....	negative cutter
Chris Jackson	....	assistant editor
Julia Nessling-Douglas	....	digital intermediate producer
Jim Page	....	additional editor
Peter G. Smith	....	assistant editor
Bill Daly	....	post-production executive (uncredited)

Music Department
Nancy Allen	....	assistant music editor
Joe Lisanti	....	music editor
Michael Riesman	....	conductor
Walter Werzowa	....	composer: main titles

Transportation Department
Michel Boulanger	....	driver: producer
Richard Chabot	....	driver: second unit
Victor Labelle	....	artist driver: Olivier Martinez
James Sanchez	....	transportation captain
Joe Sanchez	....	transportation coordinator
Jerome Wheeler	....	driver
Dominic Thiffault	....	driver (uncredited)

Other crew
Marie-Elaine Bailly	....	production coordinator
Lynn Beaudin	....	location manager
Stephanie Beaudin	....	assistant location manager
Melanie Bergeron	....	key medic
Pierre Blondin	....	location supervisor
Martin Brisebois	....	stand-in: Ethan Hawke
Brinton Bryan	....	set production assistant: additional photography
Jennifer Bydwell	....	clearance coordinator
Tom Carson	....	assistant production coordinator: additional photography
Ryan Churchill	....	body double: Ethan Hawke
Jean-Philippe Collin	....	stand-in: Tchéky Karyo
Alain Dahan	....	location manager
C.J. Dixon	....	assistant: Bernie Goldmann
François Doré	....	police consultant: Surete du Quebec
Genevieve Doyon	....	production assistant
Harvey Drouelle	....	daily production assistant
Lauren Feige	....	assistant: Alan Blomquist
Carey Field	....	set production assistant: additional photography
Mark Frazier	....	assistant: Mark Canton
Paule Girardin	....	production coordinator: second unit
Holly Goline	....	assistant: Angelina Jolie
Marc Julien	....	set production assistant: second unit
Liam Kiernan	....	assistant location manager
Adrian Knight	....	location manager
Agnieszka Kroskowska	....	body and hand double: Angelina Jolie
Marie La Haye	....	continuity
Cara Leibovitz	....	unit publicist
Marie-Laure Lemaire Viens	....	production assistant
Maryse Lesage	....	second production coordinator
Josh Levitan	....	assistant: Bernie Goldmann
Eva MacGregor	....	assistant accountant
Dana Mackey	....	assistant: D.J. Caruso
Melanie Morin	....	accounting clerk
Brian O'Donnell	....	second unit production assistant
Denis Paquette	....	assistant location manager
Paolo Quintans	....	production assistant
Ryan Robertson	....	main title producer
Bernard Rodrigue	....	location manager: second unit
Lise Servant	....	payroll accountant
Jenny Siff	....	production secretary: additional photography
Kathy Ann Thomas	....	production secretary
Silenn Thomas	....	assistant: Mark Canton
Melanie Tolbert	....	stand-in
Yanick Veilleux	....	production assistant
Natacha Williams	....	production assistant
Garson Yu	....	title designer
Tanya Nesi	....	production assistant (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Warner Bros. Pictures
• Village Roadshow Pictures
• Atmosphere Entertainment MM
• Taking Lives Pictures Inc.

Distributors

• Warner Bros. Pictures (2004) (USA) (theatrical)
• Fox-Warner (2004) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• Sandrew Metronome Distribution Sverige AB (2004) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Village Roadshow Entertainment (2004) (Australia) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (2004) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (2004) (Belgium) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (2004) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (2004) (France) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (2004) (USA) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (2004) (Italy) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (2004) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (2004) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (2004) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Argentina Video Home (Argentina) (DVD)
• Argentina Video Home (Argentina) (VHS)
• Net5 (2007) (Netherlands) (TV) (first national airing)
• Sandrews (2004) (Sweden) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2004) (Spain) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2004) (Netherlands) (DVD) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2004) (USA) (DVD)

Special Effects

• Pacific Title and Art Studio (visual effects)
• Hatch Production (matte paintings)
• Intrigue

Other Companies

• Atlantic Cine Equipment  descender rig
• Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment  cranes and dollies
• Footsteps Post-Production Sound  foley recorded at
• Geo Film Group  libra head
• Pacific Title  titles and opticals
• Pro-Film Animal Inc.  animals provided by (as Pro-Film Animals Inc.)
• Snap Shots  weapons
• yU+Co.  main title sequence designed by

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence including disturbing images, language and some sexuality.

Runtime:

103 min | USA:109 min (unrated version)

Country:

USA | Australia | Canada

Language:

English | French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Japan:R-15 | Ireland:18 | Indonesia:Dewasa | Iceland:16 | Malaysia:18SG | New Zealand:R16 | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | Brazil:14 | Canada:18A | Canada:R (director's cut) | Chile:14 | Finland:K-15 | France:-12 | Germany:16 | Hong Kong:IIB | Hong Kong:III (director's cut) | Netherlands:16 | Norway:15 | Peru:14 | Philippines:R-18 | Singapore:M18 (director's cut) | Singapore:NC-16 (edited for re-rating) | Singapore:R(A) (original rating) | South Korea:18 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:16 (canton of the Grisons) | UK:15 | USA:R | USA:Unrated (director's cut)

Filming Locations:

Chemin du Lac, Knowlton's Landing, Québec, Canada

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

Screenwriters Nicholas Kazan, Hillary Seitz and David Ayer worked on revisions for Jon Bokenkamp's script.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: The police helicopters landing at the Moncton (New Brunswick) train station are Sûreté du Québec (Quebec provincial police) helicopters. Even if the SQ were authorized to carry out an intervention in New Brunswick, Moncton is over 200 kilometres from the Quebec border - there's no way those helicopters could have gotten there in the 20 minutes the police said they had.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Cashier: Where are you going?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Superman II: Restoring the Vision (2006) (V)

Soundtrack:

Asomate A La Ventana

Creepy, sinister and moody. But SE7EN it ain't...

Despite my love of Angelina Jolie, I must say that Taking Lives wasted a lot of good opportunity.

Given that they invented an entirely new lead character, we can't really compare this to the book, so let's look at it as a movie of it's own right.

Jolie plays Illeana Scott, a somewhat strange FBI agent who is called up to Canada to investigate the grisly murders of several young men, all whom have had their identities stolen by the killer. New to the scene is witness James Costa, Ethan Hawke, who soon grows to have an attachment to Scott.

At turns formulaic and down right rip off (the credits are far too similar to be called a homage to SE7EN), Taking Lives is a very enjoyable piece of work.

Beautifully shot, the film wallows in its moods. It knows that it can be creepy, but it wears it out on its sleeves.

Angelina is on top form as Scott, although its a shame that the movie does stoop to the need for quick-sex-scene-with-unnecessary-titty-shot.

Ethan Hawke is bearable as Costa, although he and Jolie have very little chemistry.

Other players, Olivier Martinez, Gena Rowlands, Tcheky Karyo and Jean Hughes-Angalade are also quite good.

The film does have its highs: excellent cinematography, creepy sinister mood, two fantastic adrenaline-jump moments that I never saw coming. But it also has one FATAL flaw, and that is that anyone who has seen any piece of film or television before will be able to guess who the killer is. Still, a fun movie nevertheless.

7/10 If you get the chance to see it in the cinema, watch people's reactions to the 'scissors-scene'. I was amazed to see hoe genuinely horrified even the most hardened viewers in my cinema were.