Tod im kalten Morgenlicht

Not having seen the original (In Broad Daylight, if I'm not mistaken), I viewed this film without preexisting expectations and loved it. It's very suspenseful without using formulaic devices and had a really rich pace and rhythm. The characters are very real and three-dimensional and Richard E. Grant gives a wonderful performance (as always, IMHO). I tend to enjoy films that feature character actors in leading roles. They don't have the off-screen persona that tends to overwhelm character portrayal as sometimes happens with conventional leading men and ladies. Sorry about the digression. If you like suspense-thrillers that are intense without displaying a great deal of frenzied action, you'll like this movie.

Less satisfying than "Silence of the Lambs," but nevertheless haunting, suspenseful, and worth a rental. It was one of those that stayed with me.

At heart, it is the psychological study of an ex-cop (Grant)trying to balance two opposing aspects: his compulsion to apprehend a child killer and his growing love for a woman (Baxter) and her young daughter (Weeks). The struggle forces him to confront his own limitations, the denial of which leads to the climax and possible tragedy. This is paralleled by Baxter's convincing portrayal of a mother vacillating between suspicion and trust, fear and love.

The film subtly but effectively sexualizes the daughter to give us glimpse of childhood through the psychopath's eyes, a technique which sharpens and crystallizes both the plot and mood. Unfortunately, the psychological study of the killer, though ample, seems week and would have benefited from more attention by the writer.

Others that gave this film low ratings are SO missing out. The character development is superb, the acting compelling, and suspense palpable in parts. No, it doesnt have desperate, flashy attempts at getting your attention. It doesnt need them. The introduction of Perdita Weeks was brilliant. Please dont shy away due to the poor reviews sprinkled in among true and brutally honest reviews. This one will stick with you for a long time...and I guarantee you'll be talking back to the television when you grasp the gravity of the developing story. Maybe you'll zhout about it... but you'll be held captive by this film until the very end.

This is a fair remake of a grand old movie, "It Happened in Broad Daylight" (1958) or "Es geschah am hellichten Tag" in German.

The story is almost the same, but the movie is much more modern, of course. It has some Hollywood-like cliches that don't suit the original.

If you like detective stories of that kind you might enjoy it, but if you understand just a few words in German I'd always suggest to watch the original old movie with German cult-actor Heinz Ruehmann.

In my opinion, this is one of the better movies to come out of Europe in the past decade. The film's power lies not, like so many of its Hollywood counterparts, in bombastic displays of action and violence, but rather in a well balanced mix of superb character development and a thoughtful but well-paced plotline. The film functions on many levels and probes deeper into the minds of its characters than almost any other film I've seen.