Like Minds

I got this DVD without knowing a thing about it, other than the fact that the cover art looked interesting, and it was an Australian production. What i saw was perhaps the most precisely weird film I have ever watched. And 'weird' is a good thing, in a time when seemingly everything has been done, and it is so hard to achieve originality. 17 year-old Alex discovers that a new guy has been placed in his dorm room at the private school which he attends. Nigel is quiet, cold, and has a preoccupation with history and pure blood lineage. He also has an obsession with dead things. He is into taxidermy, and spends most of his time gutting and stuffing animal carcasses in his room. This drives Alex crazy, however Nigel manages to insinuate himself into Alex's life, and the relationship that develops between these two guys is one of the strangest ones i have seen portrayed in cinema. Surprisingly Miramax has purchased the rights to this film. Surprisingly because, although "Like Minds" is a fine, and very special movie, it is doubtful that it will have a commercial success in the states, as it is just too dark, murky and off-beat for most mainstream movie-goers. It is also quite morbid. However i can see this one developing a cult following among fans of strange and sinister films. The cinematography is beautiful, and the scenes with Nigel and Alex are mesmerizing. There were of course, a few scenes that were not quite as effective. Mainly the ones that focused on Toni Collette's character, as a criminal psychologist. A couple scenes made the movie look like it might turn into another average murder mystery thriller. But those moments are few and far between, as the film refuses to be predictable, or normal in any way. The story becomes more bizarre, and more fascinating as it goes forward, and a couple plot twists really blew me away. And the character of Nigel, as portrayed by Tom Sturridge, was evil and menacing, and his pale, haunted look made for perfect casting. Eddie Redmayne as Alex was no less compelling. There were some really nice touches, and a couple tributes paid to other classic films about evil. Such as the rotweiller that protects Nigel, very much like the demonic dogs who protected Damian in the classic "Omen." And a grisly murder, featuring a young woman crucified with two rowing oars crossed. A similar ritual murder that featured in William Peter Blatty's 'Exorcist III." Oddly there is no one that the audience is urged to sympathize with, as both boys are very cold and unfriendly. Another fact that makes this so different from a Hollywood production. "Like Minds" is a very strange and unique film. I imagine that many people will hate this, and others, mainly those with a fixation on the darker sides of the human soul, will find it fascinating.

History is the study of man's past. To some it's merely a collection of events, to others it's a series of memories, but to a certain segment of people, it's the sum collection of heritage and honor. In this incredible black and dark movie originally called 'Murderous Intent', but retitled "Like Minds" it's the tale of two boys. Alex (Eddie Redmayne, incredible acting) and Nigel Colbie (Tom Sturridge, intriguing performance) attending the same private school. Although they seem at odds with other, they are in fact much closer than meets the eye. When a series of murders catch the attention of the local constabulary it falls to Inspector McKenzie (Richard Roxburgh) to solve them. His conclusions are quick and to the point, but he needs a psychological profile of one student to close the case. A Psychologist (Toni Collette) is called in and soon is embroiled in a battle of wits with an extremely manipulative young man, who relates the story of his evil school friend. One, she is certain is the mastermind, the other is a conniving and controlling con-artist, who believes in his family history and blood line to up hold tradition and any measures necessary to achieve a holy means. Not since Alfred Hitchcock has such dark drama been offered to an audience. Writer/Director Gregory Read has indeed surpassed that goal. Excellent suspense and shadowy mayhem for those interested in a twisted plot with an equally twisted conclusion. ****

Have you ever just clicked with someone? Ever felt they just got you, like they were inside your head? But what if that link had a sinister side? What if their knowing you was involuntary? Like Minds (2006) is the tale of one such relationship; a complicated adversarial tussle between two boys bound by history, mythology and blood. But it is not your ordinary thriller.

Alex Forbes (Eddie Redmayne) is a cocky private school boy living with the mantle of his lineage. With more than charm behind his smile, he plays being son-of-the-principal to his favour where he can, but when he is forced to share his room with a beautiful and strange boy, Nigel Colby (Tom Sturridge), Alex finds himself being slowly suffocated by a string of deaths. But when these occurrences culminate in Nigel's death, Alex is taken into custody.

Lacking hard evidence and under pressure from Alex's father, Senior Detective Martin Mckenzie (Richard Roxburgh) enlists the expertise of forensic psychologist Sally Rowe (Toni Collette) to dig up foundation to the charges. Her investigations force her into an awkward and testing psychological dialogue with Alex that continues to delve deeper into mystery and murder. But even as information comes to light, the relationships between the characters prove to be as tightly woven as the rich mythology that under pins the story.

Doused in history, religion and suspense, Like Minds is disturbingly sophisticated, visually beautiful and completely captivating. The acting of Eddie Redmayne is chillingly brilliant, but by far Tom Sturridge's is the most impressive, being haunting and calculated with a cold, unemotional stare that will sink deep into you.

Nigel Bluck's cinematography is beautiful, with a saturated and dark aesthetic that is as melancholic as the soundtrack. Both add so much to the depth of Like Minds.

Like Minds is a complicated contemporary thriller with a jarring twist; hauntingly beautiful and sharp as a knife. And it certainly will cut deep.

The film starts out very simple, a dead body and a kid as the most likely suspect. Toni Collette plays a psychologist trying to get an idea of whether or not he is guilty. The rest of the film is told in flashback, starting with Alex, the kid suspected, being introduced to the world of Nigel, his new roommate, who believes that he is something more than what people see him as, and he wonders if Alex may be a part of it. From there, the events leading up to Nigel's death is unraveled, leading up to the final climatic ending.

This film tries to do what several successful films have done in the past by posing a semi-twist ending. Unfortunately it falls a little short of getting there, and becoming more of an open-ended film to think about, open to your own interpretation.

I passed this film up on several trips to Blockbuster because I disliked the title and didn't care much for the photo on the DVD box. But, Blockbuster showcases so much crap, and I had basically exhausted all of my viewing choices when I finally settled on this DVD. To my great surprise, this is a fascinating movie, with just enough twists and turns to keep the viewer interested. Toni Colette is wonderful and believable in the role of a forensic psychologist tasked with interviewing a murder suspect. Her job: to weave together the fragments of his harrowing narrative in order to ascertain his culpability, which the impetuous arresting officer (he has testosterone seeping out of his pores) is eager to have confirmed. The film is brilliant because it pitches together a smart forensic psychologist who eventually has to pull her dusty textbooks off the shelf to read up on Gestalt, with a young man of remarkable, quiet brilliance and the cunning of a fox at the chicken coop. Well worth viewing.