The Bone Collector
Four years ago Lincoln Rhyme was NYC’s most revered crime scene investigator, however a devastating accident left him a quadriplegic and retired.
A serial killer has made themselves known, and the police are at a loss to the evidence left behind. They ask Rhyme for help, and he requests the gutsy Amelia Donaghy to work with them since she discovered the first victim, and “worked the scene”.
Direction
Directed by Phillip Noyce, there are some clever uses of camera work at times that are almost askew – to act as Lincolns line of sight as he is confined to a bed for the majority of the film.
There is also some good use of deep focus too.
Cast/Characters
Denzel Washington plays the role of Lincoln Rhyme, and due to Rhyme’s disability, spends almost 99% of the film confined to bed.
Angelina Jolie plays Amelia Donaghy, a feisty cop who finds the first victim, and is called to assist the investigation. She is solid in another film made in the same year she won her Oscar.
Some big names co stars are Ed O’Neill as Paulie (Lincolns former partner), Michael Rooker as Capt Howard Cheney (who tries to take the investigation away from Lincoln), Queen Latifah as Thelma (Lincoln’s live in nurse). Also starring are Luis Guzman, Leland Orser, Bobby Canavale.
Breakdown
Having read the book a few weeks ago, I thought I would give the movie a re-watch to see how it holds up. Also it is another film from my favourite year of cinema… 1999. I thought it handled quadriplegia well, showing just how devastating it can be even years later, both of the body (seizures) and the mind (Linc wants assisted suicide)
The pacing was done well, with just enough time spend on what happens to Lincoln to cause his quadriplegia (an accident while investigating a death scene).
The camera angles were clever at times, with skewed perceptions, which mimic the view that Rhyme has at times from his bed.
I did find the character of Lincoln to be oddly written. At times he is called the grumpiest cop around, but he comes across as jovial, and happy to pass on his knowledge (completely different to the book)
A throwaway scene in the start of the film has Amelia have a tense moment with a boyfriend as she is ‘unable to make a commitment’. This adds nothing to the film, and doesn’t make sense to her character. Editing! Less is more!
The film does the normal thriller/cop hunting killer cliche’s, like red herring of who the killer is (Michael Rooker actually wore the killers’ mask to throw audiences off the trail), misdirected tension (you think a killer is turning up somewhere, but its just another cop), and the forgotten history between the killer (who’s kept his identity a secret) and the main hero. I wish we got a scene where Rhyme discussed his history as an “expert” witness, that would have given a lead up to the killer reveal – otherwise it felt like sloppy writing.
Some downs, the timeline was too jumpy, especially given that the killer is shown to be in Lincolns apartment around the same time he was kidnapping someone. Also JUSTICE FOR THELMA!
I quite liked the score by Craig Armstrong, it had great pensive moments focusing on Piano work
Overall
A good enough late 1990’s cop thriller, isn’t as good as the book, but still holds up (considering it predates all the CSI television shows too!)
Some issues with the narrative and timeline are downers too, but other than that, a recommend.
3.5/5
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