Misanthrope

So it's like most crime dramas, you know, there's a killer, false lead, false lead, then true lead, true lead until they catch him.

The first part was like that, like most crime movies. But I liked the second part, I'm not going to spoil anything, but the characters and their motivations felt real, felt like it could happen to anyone in this day and age. It left me thinking about a lot of stuff, it left me with a bitter taste in my mouth, a bit sad about what happened and overall the killer's story, which is more sad than violent.

Overall I really enjoyed it, it's a slow burner but it pays off. I recommend it.

First of all, rotten tomatoes has reviewers comparing this to Silence of the Lambs. That's ho I heard about this one and got curious. This movie is a throwback to more of the mystery, thrillers we had in the 90s, but it's not Silence of the Lambs. The killer here is vicious and has a high body count. The pacing was pretty decent and I must say even more exciting than a lot of thrillers out today.

First, that opening sequence will grab your attention and the movie is bright enough to see that action on screen. Every performance works here and is played as a straight forward, solid thriller. I read where folks were split in how it ended. In my opinion, I thought the whole movie is solid and the ending was perfect. This is that rare thriller that I'd actually pay to see again.

The movie itself is great. It could have been a masterpiece because it has all the ingredients. Amazing cast, interesting non generic script and great scenarios. On the other hand, the ending felt a bit rushed. But let's start with the great.

First, the cast does an amazing job here. Intense, real and deep characters.

Second, the script is quite interesting (not original) but it has a few surprises that in my case I didn't see to come.

Last, the settings are great. Love the cold vibes. Fargo's style.

So, overall if you love good independent cinema this one is for you. Could have been a true masterpiece with a more elaborated ending. But nothing is perfect. Enjoy.

Misanthrope (To Catch a Killer) delivers a chilling and brutal chase after a shooter that manages to evade technology surveillance and large scale police forces. Our protagonist is a climb-from-the-bottom police officer with good motivation and talent. The chase after the killer will go through hard scenes, politics and personal confrontations going all the way to a conclusion which is in some ways predictable and in some ways not.

Overall, Misanthrope is a believable thriller that will keep you thinking and guessing all the way through. The characters are great and we are given just enough background on each to have us care without boring us with irrelevant details. Although there is plenty of action, the movie is not "a bullet a second" and there is plenty of drama and dialogues in between, which is a breath of fresh air compared to all the beautiful-CGI no-story films we see out of Hollywood.

I liked "Misanthrope". It is well made, well acted and well written. It will not win any Oscars, but I still recommend it to anybody who is into crime drama and police action movies. Exact score: 72 / 100.

Just by watching the trailer, I was annoyed with Mendelsohn's character Lammark, and I questioned casting Woodley as a beat cop - I mean there are so many other more convincing female actors out there. But oddly enough, both actors and their characters grew on me as the film progressed.

I'm also not a fan of slow paced films, and this one mostly is, but oddly enough, Argentinian co-writer and director Damián Szifron (in his first English film debut) made it all work with engaging scenes and circumstances. His directing was spot-on, and although there was ambiguity to many scenes and dialogue, the film came together like an old school psycho-thriller/police procedural. It felt like a non-Hollywood-stylized movie version of a better Criminal Minds episode.

The story was nothing revolutionary, but delivered enough suspense at the right moments, built intriguing character interest, and had some riveting action just at the right times to keep me fully engaged throughout the entire almost two hour runtime. So considering the current slim pickings out there for down and out enjoyable thriller/cop films, this one is a winner, and a definite recommend from me.