Can an actress be too sexy for a role? Angelina Jolie pushes that limit in the dark, psychological thriller, Taking Lives.
Jolie plays Special Agent Illeana Scott, a top FBI profiler called on to help Montreal authorities track down a serial killer on the loose. The plot twists and turns as Scott pieces together the clues in an effort to catch the killer before he strikes again.
So, is Jolie too sexy to be taken seriously as a top notch FBI profiler? The answer is a resounding, NO. While she is extremely desirable, her acting demands she be taken seriously as she pushes the Lara Croft stereotype to the side. Jolie commands respect from her fellow officers, as well as the audience, in her role as Agent Scott, all while trying to get inside the mind of a serial killer.
Ethan Hawke also does a terrific job playing Costa, the owner of an art gallery who witnesses one of the killer’s attacks. Illeana and Costa soon become close as he becomes more and more involved in the investigation.
It is no secret that Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman parted ways during the filming of Taking Lives and Thurman’s filming of Kill Bill and after seeing Jolie and Hawke on screen together it is no surprise where suspicions may have grown.
Hawke and Jolie are electric together, lighting up the screen at every turn even in the darkness that the story promotes. Chemistry is just as important to a movie as is a great script and Jolie and Hawke have it.
Although, I like Taking Lives it does have some flaws. At times I felt as though the movie was pushing the boundaries of believability, simply to keep you guessing. Also, you may be left shaking your head as characters make decisions that put them in unbelievable danger, allowing you to see surprises coming from a mile away.
However, in its defense, the movie occasionally sets you up for a scare, and then does not follow through, creating a great formula for surprises, keeping you on edge and making the movie more compelling.
Taking Lives is thrilling, scary, packed with surprises and will have you cowering in your seat, and then jumping out of it. Fans of Silence of the Lambs, and Seven will enjoy Taking Lives, a movie cut from the same cloth.
