Suspect Zero (2004)
Directed by E Elias Merhige
Written by Zak Penn, Billy Ray
Starring Aaron Eckhardt, Ben Kingsley, Carrie Ann Moss
Release Date August 27th, 2004
Published August 26th, 2004
“Remote viewing” is something fans of late night radio host Art Bell are very familiar with. The CIA is rumored to have used remote viewing to locate dangerous criminals until the concept was found unreliable. Remote viewing is essentially a psychic phenomenon. Viewers claim to be able to find people using only their mind, describing what they see by drawing a picture with their eyes closed.
While remote viewing has been debunked, see Penn & Teller's brilliant "Bullshit" series, it does make an interesting plot for a movie. Suspect Zero, starring Aaron Eckhart and Ben Kingsley, makes good use of it as a plot point but a weak performance from Eckhart is the film’s undoing.
Eckhardt stars as FBI agent Thomas Mackelway, recently returned to duty after a suspension. Mackelway had once been a top guy in the bustling Dallas office but now has been busted down to the relatively mundane Albuquerque office. As he's settling in to what he thinks will be a pretty dull gig he gets a big case, a murder that places the body directly on the New Mexico-Texas border.
Because the body is on the border, it is a federal investigation. The murder has the telltale signs of a serial killer. Numerous markings, a strange symbol (a zero with a line through it), and the victims eyelids have been cut off. The capper though is that, like most movie serial killers, the killer has specifically chosen Mackelway to be his opponent in a murderous game of cat and mouse.
Ah, but this film is a little more complex than other films of its genre. Our killer, Benjamin O'Ryan (Kingsley) has chosen his victims because they are serial killers. One of the victims happens to be the reason why Mackelway just got off suspension, he attacked the man and thus he got off on a technicality until O'Ryan came along and killed him. The manipulation here is pretty good; you sympathize with O'Ryan because he is killing bad guys.
O'Ryan tracks the killers through remote viewing, a skill he developed as an agent of the FBI. O'Ryan believes that Mackelway may have the gift as well. O'Ryan wants Mackelway to help him track down a killer he calls suspect zero, a killer who has killed indiscriminately across the entire country with no serial pattern. This suspect zero, O'Ryan believes, may be responsible for most of the unsolved murders in the country.
The film was directed by E. Elias Merhige, whose Shadow Of The Vampire was a quiet success back in 2000. Here his direction lacks the precision of Shadow. He falls way too in love with moving his camera, neglecting at times to secure it before moving it on a dolly, thus the camera shakes to distraction. Merhige uses way too many super tight close-ups, so close you can count nose hairs. Thankfully, toward the end of the film, Merhige's direction becomes tighter and the final 20 minutes get real good.
The most glaring problem of the film is star Aaron Eckhardt whose performance is uncertain and imprecise. It may be more the fault of Zak Penn's script for underwriting the character but clearly the character is off balance the entire film. The subplot about Mackelway possibly having the gift of remote viewing is never resolved though he spends a good deal of energy selling the pain of the migraines and visions that accompany the gift.
Also, hasn't this guy ever heard of the Internet? How is there not one computer in the entire FBI office? There is also a throwaway romantic plot with a former girlfriend and partner played by Carrie Ann Moss that just seems rote and unnecessary.
Who can blame Zak Penn for underwriting Eckhart's character when Ben Kingsley's O'Ryan is such a great part to write for? Kingsley is becoming known for strong performances in weak films, even earning an Oscar nomination for the over-hyped Sexy Beast. He's even not horrible in Thunderbirds where his righteous overacting is at least worth a few chuckles. Here he is riveting and more than believable as a man who has seen too many horrible things.
There is something so seedy and yet appealing about vigilante justice. You can't say it's okay to kill people but when O'Ryan comes upon a serial rapist, beats the hell out of him and kills him, you can't help but pause for a moment and think it's not so bad. I always love movies that test the limits of my morality, and sense of right and wrong and Suspect Zero does that.
I wish I could give Suspect Zero a full recommendation but that is impossible when the lead character just doesn't work. On the strength of Ben Kingsley's performance and the very good final reel, I can give Suspect Zero a partial recommendation.
