Denzel Washington: The Bone Collector - Movie

The Bone Collector
Cast :	Denzel Washington, Angelina Jolie
Director :	Phillip Noyce
Studio :	Universal Studios
Format :	Color, DTS Surround Sound, Widescreen, Closed-captioned, Dolby
Released Date :	November 05, 1999
DVD Released Date :	August 28, 2001
Language :	English (Dubbed), French (Dubbed), English (Original Language), French (Original Language)
Audience Rating :	R (Restricted)
	BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON

Customer Reviews

Rating
Date	July 24, 2005
Summary	Before CSI there was The Bone Collector
Content	The Bone Collector* (1999) is the third Angelina Jolie film set in New York City (Life is All There Is and Hell's Kitchen NYC are the first and second). It is the first of 2 films in which she plays an investigator who pursues a serial killer (Taking Lives, released in 2003, is the second). As I mentioned in my Mojave Moon review, The Bone Collector is the first big-budget movie to run Ms Jolie's name above the title. She plays opposite one of Hollywood's most respected leading men, Denzel Washington. Also appearing are Queen Latifah, Michael Rooker, Mike McGlone, Luiz Guzman, Leland Orser, John Benjamin Hickey, Bobby Cannevale, and Ed O'Neill. Philip Noyce (Sliver in '93, Clear and Present Danger in '94) directs. CSI (Crime Scene Investigation) is the hottest TV series going today. It was first aired one year after The Bone Collector's release. I don't know if the brains at CBS behind CSI were inspired by The Bone Collector. But one thing is sure: in 1999 The Bone Collector tapped the magic of police forensics on the big screen in the same way that CSI does now on the small screen. But although the Bone Collector soars, it carries an annoying burden on its back that throws a wobble on its flight to glory. The blame is not due the acting, direction, camera, scenery, editing, or music. All of these are excellent and make for a very stylish movie, one that pleases the eyes and ears. But the move fails to satisfy the mind. Read my lips: the problem is the script. Before The Bone Collector, two very highly-rated films had set the standard for serial killer mysteries. These were The Silence of the Lambs (1991) and Se7ven (1995). The Bone Collector matches them in style. Perhaps it even surpasses them, as its atmospherics are creepier. But Se7ven's script is better. Silence's script is way better. About The Bone Collector script, there are troubling weaknesses. One weakness concerns the conflict of authority in the NYPD hierarchy. This conflict is central to the dramatic tension of the movie as a whole, and so its weakness needs some care to explain. Denzel Washington is Lincoln Rhyme, a quadraplegic cripple (which means his four limbs--two arms, two legs--are paralyzed). He draws the full pay of a detective because he was incapacitated by an on-the-job accident. But he performs no official police duties. He's not fit to. Yet apparently on the strength of the respect the police have for his crime scene forensics expertise, he is able to insert Patrolwoman Amelia Donaghy (Jolie) into the task force that's trying to catch the so-called Bone Collector serial killer. Donaghy is just a beat cop with no plans to become a detective. (She does display a natural talent for forensics, which is why Rhyme is interested in her.) Rhyme doesn't just place her as an observer on the task force...he promotes her to sole CSI operative. Linked to Rhyme by radio, she acts as his eyes and ears at the crime scene, while back in his apartment he calls the shots from bed. Right here I'm asking myself, "But if she, untrained in CSI work, messes up, and Rhyme is not on official duty status, then who is responsible?" HELLO--the real world does not work that way, especially not when it comes to a high-stakes big-city crime caper like the movie is supposed to show us. It gets worse. Rhyme's arrangement with Donaghy is resented by the regular CSI team that works under the authority of Captain Cheney (Rooker). Cheney is no friend of Rhyme. In fact Cheney, who took over forensics after Rhyme's accident, has been replacing Rhyme's CSI people with his own loyalists. (That's why Rhyme wants Donaghy; he's not impressed with Cheney's people.) Rhyme's allies are Eddie Ortiz (Guzman), an expert in police lab work, and detectives Solomon (McGlone) and Sellitto (O'Neill) who are homicide dicks, not CSI at all. It was Sellitto who first came to see Rhyme about the Bone Collector. He mentioned that the Chief of Police sent him. The NYPD is all shook up because the Bone Collector kidnapped a VIP and his wife. No doubt Rhyme's advice in this dark hour would be a great help. But it is just as clear he is in no shape to resume any real authority--he has a spasmodic attack right in the middle of the talk with Sellitto! Rhyme's caregiver (Latifah) abruptly orders a panicked Sellitto to leave. It is incomprehensible to see, a little later, Lincoln Rhyme, now on the case from his bed, blithely brushing Captain Cheney aside. After an uncomfortable Cheney leaves Rhyme's apartment, Rhyme orders Donaghy to go out on her first mission. "Should we keep Cheney in the loop?" asks Sellitto. "Fck him," is Rhyme's reply. I'll summarize the power play at work here: Rhyme has no official authority over the Bone Collector case, he's just an advisor; Sellitto is Rhyme's friend and ally, and as detective he has enough authority to order Donaghy to do what Rhyme tells her; Captain Cheney, however, is in charge of CSI and is ranked higher than Sellitto; Donaghy is able to do CSI work only because Sellitto is keeping Cheny out of the loop. The crack in the chain of command eventually breaks out in the open. Starting at 1h:34m:26s, Cheney shows up at a crime scene to interrupt Donaghy and to berate Rhyme over her radio. "I've got some news for you," he shouts. "You are not a cop anymore, you understand that? What you are is a fcking meddling cripple. Now, I'm going to put your little girlfriend under arrest. You don't mind that, do you?" Occupied with venting his spleen at Rhyme, Cheney doesn't notice Donaghy giving him the slip. She disappears into the night to continue her search for the Bone Collector! Of course in the end their little stint as loose cannons comes out good for Rhyme and Donaghy. As it would only in Holly-would. Donaghy's reckless gamble with her police career is, in terms of real life, totally unbelievable. In Silence of the Lambs, Claire Starling (Jodie Foster) was an FBI trainee, not an active-duty agent. But because she showed exceptional ability, she was given special permission to take part in the Buffalo Bill serial killer investigation. The appeal of Foster's character is that she's the ever-dutiful newbie, respectful and polite at every turn. We believe in her all the way. Claire could never end up chasing a crazed murderer while at the same time being chased by her own agency for stealing police evidence, as did Amelia Donaghy. A second weakness of the script is the climax, when the killer reveals himself. I'm not going to spoil the suspense for you by explaining what happens. I'll just say the perp pops up in a totally unexpected, "Jack-in-the-box" way. The trail of evidence that Rhyme and Donaghy had carefully tracked for an hour and a half of the movie does not lead to this guy at all. So you're left with (or at least I was left with) a feeling of having been taken on a thrill ride to nowhere for most of the film. The one good that comes out of it is that Donaghy deduces the perp is going after Rhyme. But who the perp is and why he wants Rhyme dead we learn from the perp himself, not from Amelia's detective work. Another script weakness regards the state of Rhyme's health. In the beginning of the film we watch him convince his doctor to help him though his "final transition" (physician-assisted suicide). Rhyme speaks of the dysreflexia seizures that are occuring more often, and the buildup of fluid in his spine which is a degenerative condition. "We both know I'm waiting for the seizure that's gonna make me a vegetable." The doctor is clearly reluctant to be part of Rhyme's final transition. But since he has no medical argument to counter Rhyme, he finally agrees to do the deed on the coming Sunday. At the end of the film it's Christmas, nearly two months later. Rhyme and his doctor are talking again, this time about the view from Rhyme's window. "It's looking better every day," Rhyme says. Then Amelia enters followed by other guests, and a Christmas party ensues. "It's looking better every day" is a hint, I guess, that Rhyme is getting better. Or at least feeling better. Well, I want to know what happened. Six weeks earlier he was all ready to check out. His doctor agreed that his health was in irreversable decline. Now we see Rhyme partying with Amelia and friends. Why he's still here is left to our imagination. OK, now that we're on the topic of the relationship between Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Donaghy, enough criticism. Ms Jolie remarked that the best sex scenes she ever did onscreen were with Denzel Washington. (Remember, The Bone Collector was made after Pushing Tin, so we must conclude these scenes were even better for her than kissing Billy Bob.) What she meant was that because these scenes were almost non-physical in nature, they required a lot more emotional involvement from the actors. I find these scenes just amazing! There's an intense exchange of glances when Amelia accidentially drops a small piece of crime-scene evidence on Lincoln's chest. There's Amelia touching the tracheotomy scar on his throat as he sleeps; then she fondles the index finger of his left hand, the only finger that he has control of. As she does this, her face is rapt with what looks like orgasmic meditation. There's an obvious symbolism to this that I won't bother to explain. At the very end of the film she again fondles that finger. Immediately afterward, starting at 1h:47m:01s soon before the film fades to black, we're seeing Lincoln's face full on and Amelia's from the left side. Watch carefully, you can observe Ms Jolie lifting her left eyebrow in that tradwmark way of hers as she looks into Denzel's eyes...that eyebrow, one commentator wrote, with which Jolie could lift weights. Watch Lincoln's facial expression. She's sending a signal, he's receiving it. It's so obvious. It's a signal that she has a present for him this Christmas that doesn't come sealed in a box wrapped in foil paper and a bright bow. This is surely one reason why he told his doctor, "It's getting better every day." Before I close I want to summarize the Amelia Donaghy character. Her father's name was John Donaghy. He was born in Brooklyn, was a NYPD patrolman, and was 47 years old when he killed himself with his service revolver. Amelia found his body at his apartment. This haunts her, naturally. Amelia's mother, Linda Wilken, is 6 years older than her husband. She was born in Salem, Massachussetts and lives there at present. John and Linda were divorced in 1977 when Amelia was 6 years old. She grew up in Salem with her mother. As a teen she did catalogue modeling. After high school she moved to New York to attend Washington College. Then she entered the New York Police Academy. Following the footsteps of her Dad, to whom she was very attached, she became a policewoman. She lives in an apartment in Queens. Many reviewers of The Bone Collector describe Amelia as a "rookie cop" when Lincoln Rhyme takes her on as his assistant. That is not true. At 19m:16s Captain Cheney asks Amelia if she is a rookie, and she says no. She's been on the force a while. As a cop she has high marks from her superiors; Lincoln praises her, "You're gold shield material" (detective material). Absolutely, Amelia is no rookie cop. As a woman, Amelia is lovely but modest. She wears little or no makeup, doesn't let her hair grow too long and keeps it tied back, and dresses simply. But still she's a sexual creature with an active love life. It's hard for her to commit to a relationship, though--even harder for her than for the men she knows intimately. It appears that Lincoln Rhyme is the one man Amelia's been waiting for. But why does she fall in love with a cripple? How long will this relationship last? How long CAN it last? These questions make Amelia and Lincoln all the more intriguing to us.

Rating
Date	June 09, 2005
Summary	Pretty Good
Content	The book was obviously better than the movie, but I think they did a good job. I didn't picture Denzel Washington in the role, but i think he did a great job. i thought it was good enough to buy and i am pretty picky about buying movies.

Rating
Date	May 15, 2005
Summary	Very Good, But Follows Some of the Other Good Crime Movies
Content	The Bone Collector follows mostly the movie Silence of the Lambs and Se7en. Still incredibly emotional and suspenseful and Angelina Jolie, Denzel Washington, and Michael Rooker all turn in extremely terrific performances.

Rating
Date	May 12, 2005
Summary	ONE OF THE BEST CRIME DRAMA's in the PAST DECADE!
Content	Filmed on location in Montreal and New York, The Bone Collector is a suspense thriller that combines Rear Window and Seven. Two cops on the trail of a brutal serial killer must see as one, act as one, and think as one before the next victim falls. Lincoln Rhyme (Denzel Washington) is an intelligent forensics detective who was paralyzed in the line of duty. The author of several books, he has a keen eye for detail and nose for clues that have made him a legend in the law enforcement community. Amelia Donaghy (Angelina Jolie) is a street-smart policewoman in her twenties. On her last day as a street cop, before being transferred to a desk job, Amelia discovers a badly mutilated corpse. Rhyme is asked to investigate the case, but he declines. To him, it is an open-and-shut case not worth his time. But when he takes a close look at the evidence, he is intrigued, as the photos reveal complex messages in their details. The lunatic, who might be a taxi driver (a Scorsese allusion), amuses himself by paying homage to legendary murders in his own gruesome acts. Amelia is assigned to assist Rhyme, and she must be the eyes and ears of the quadriplegic detective. And they must capture the killer before he strikes again. Written by Jeremy Iacone and based on a book of the same title by Jeffrey Deaver

Rating
Date	March 24, 2005
Summary	One of Jolie's and Denzel's Best Films
Content	This is definitely not a horror movie for some of you fans out there... although it has some horrorific scenes. It's one of my favorite serial killer movies, better than a lot of the recent ones made. The plot in this movie was excellent. The killer was highly unpredictable and for his motives of why he was commiting these crimes. The ending could be a bit of a let down, not the thing you were built up in watching... but it could've gone a lot worse. The clues, mystery, and suspenseful action are an excellent thing to watch in this movie. The acting by Angelina Jolie(Taking Lives) is some of her best acting yet. She is far better in this than Taking Lives, that's so true. Denzel Washington has been in too many great movies and roles... again successfully playing the handicap police detective. Every actor gave their best performances, even Queen Latifah(Taxi) added some fun to the movie. For being a thriller mystery, this movie is filled perfectly with action. The crime scenes and murder scenes are well shown and easily suspenseful. The best thing about this movie is the plot, and it keeps building and building the entire time. Solving the murderer's clues alone is fun enough. This movie is not predicting... and is not a horror movie. It goes from one murder to the next, clue after clue until the detectives either solve it or lose. This movie is a steal for $10 bucks, coming with the best sound DTS. You have to watch this and buy it if you love it!

SuperiorPics.com © 2009