Amazon.com video review:
Taking its lead from Jonathan Demme's Oscar-winning pulse-raiser
The Silence Of the Lambs, Copycat strives for intelligence
over gristle and carnage. It's a terse, involving thriller that swings away
from the usual
cinematic notion of violence as a means to an end by forgoing brawn for
brains. Young San Francisco police inspector
Ruben Goetz (Dermot Mulroney) is teamed with brilliant force vet, M.J.
Monahan
(Holly Hunter), a diplomatic, no-nonsense cop who must buck the system in
order to find a killer who is copycatting the crimes of history's most
notorious serial killers. Ruben would rather shoot to
kill than merely wound a suspect; Monahan labors to help him think more
diplomatically. Everything changes when crank calls arrive at the station
from
serial-killer pin-up girl psychiatrist Helen Hudson (Sigourney
Weaver).
She's been housebound for 13 months, ever since murderer Daryll Lee
Cullum (Harry Connick Jr.) nearly made her his next victim because she
testified against him in court. Though he's in prison, he's still mentor
and
muse to every loose cannon walking the streets--one of whom is killing
people
with a vengeance and hoping to finish the job
Cullum began. Cop and doc team up to solve the case in this stylish,
plot-driven movie. Though Copycat loses steam in the end, it still
makes a point. And it serves as a cautionary tale for people everywhere,
tossing in street smart warnings against victimization. The teaming of
Hunter and Weaver works well, the short and the tall forging a terrific and
frictioned relationship that leads to grudging respect. Establishing an
ominous atmosphere reminiscent of his classic British TV miniseries The
Singing Detective, director Jon Amiel has an eye for the dark and the
unusual and it gives this film an edge that eludes most other mainstream
filmmakers. --Paula Nechak
Amazon.com Essentials:
Taking its lead from Jonathan Demme's Oscar-winning
pulse-raiser The Silence Of the Lambs, Copycat strives
for intelligence over gristle and carnage. It's a terse, involving
thriller that swings away from the usual cinematic notion of violence
as a means to an end by forgoing brawn for brains. Young San Francisco
police inspector Ruben Goetz (Dermot Mulroney) is teamed with
brilliant force vet, M.J. Monahan (Holly Hunter), a diplomatic,
no-nonsense cop who must buck the system in order to find a killer who
is copycatting the crimes of history's most notorious serial
killers. Ruben would rather shoot to kill than merely wound a suspect;
Monahan labors to help him think more diplomatically. Everything
changes when crank calls arrive at the station from serial-killer
pin-up girl psychiatrist Helen Hudson (Sigourney Weaver). She's been
housebound for 13 months, ever since murderer Daryll Lee Cullum (Harry
Connick Jr.) nearly made her his next victim because she testified
against him in court. Though he's in prison, he's still mentor and
muse to every loose cannon walking the streets--one of whom is killing
people with a vengeance and hoping to finish the job Cullum began. Cop
and doc team up to solve the case in this stylish, plot-driven
movie. Though Copycat loses steam in the end, it still makes a
point. And it serves as a cautionary tale for people everywhere,
tossing in street smart warnings against victimization. The teaming of
Hunter and Weaver works well, the short and the tall forging a
terrific and frictioned relationship that leads to grudging
respect. Establishing an ominous atmosphere reminiscent of his classic
British TV miniseries The Singing Detective, director Jon Amiel
has an eye for the dark and the unusual and it gives this film an edge
that eludes most other mainstream filmmakers. --Paula Nechak
