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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Mel O&#039;Drama" data-source="post: 376610" data-attributes="member: 23">Hangman (2017) <img src="https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.impawards.com%2F2017%2Fposters%2Fhangman.jpg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=886841f091728bab83874841f158f293366d537f8d438de893b0038123b6e6eb&ipo=images" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /> Another variation on the "jaded cop races the clock to save the next victim(s) of a gimmicky, themed, clue-leaving serial killer" theme. Moving beyond Biblical revelations, copycat killings or whatever, this film expands the repertoire to parlour games*. All the expected genre stuff is here: the grizzled cop haunted by the unsolved murder of his wife some time earlier (which, naturally, ties into the current case); the unconventional ex-cop lured out of retirement to solve one last case; the wide-eyed-but-tenacious younger woman who is naturally intuitive and who earns the respect of those around her; the peek into sub-cultures such as BDSM; the increasing spectacle of the deaths; the red herring leading to the wrong man; the inevitable final confrontation. Oh, and the twist. Don't forget the twist. Al Pacino's performance is fascinating. At first he seemed disinterested to me, almost as though he's phoning in his performance, but then I realised that this was simply his character (not entirely dissimilar to that of Peter Falk in Columbo). His is certainly the most compelling character here, and the disinterested air works incredibly well to keep the film grounded. As an example, one scene has the young woman reporter, seated in the back of the car,  responding to a casual check-in from Pacino's character with a lengthy monologue about some previous trauma she experienced while squeezing out some tears as the camera lingers on her in close up. While I get the sense the writer, director and/or actress are treating this as The Big Showstopping Moment for the actress and her character, in context it feels comically awkward because it comes out of nowhere and is shoehorned in (think Phoebe Cates's infamous "And that's how I found out there was no Santa Claus" scene in Gremlins). What's more, her character then attempts to justify the self-indulgent moment with virtue signalling, wrapping up by emphasising that "this isn't about me" but about "you" (the cops). Pacino's character simply utters "OK" (in a sing-song tone that suggests he's glad that awkward moment is over) before turning the key to start the engine and driving off. It summed up exactly how I felt in that moment. Beyond Pacino, I wasn't familiar with anyone else in the cast, which is usually a plus for me as I'm going in with no preconceptions or baggage. The actor playing the cop was fine. There was nothing really standout about his performance for me and that's fine. He just did everything he was required to do with minimum fuss. The young woman playing the reporter was less engaging for me. I wasn't expecting Jodie Foster, but for me she just didn't have the right presence for a primary player in a big role and failed to generate anything that created empathy with her character. This isn't entirely the actress's fault:  the writing tries and fails to create interest with her evasive allusions to her history that ultimately end up feeling distracting and attention-seeking. All the same, I suspect a different actress might have swung the balance towards me actually caring whether or not the character is in a scene. And while I felt similarly ambivalent about the police captain, I do applaud the attempt to cast and play against type there. Perhaps the biggest disappointment was the Hangman himself. Once onscreen he's all indulgent theatrical monologues, but with overly-mannered teen drama emoting in place of any real presence or gravitas. It was hugely anti-climactic (which is rather impressive considering my already-low expectations). Perhaps the film's strengths can be best summed up by saying that I was engrossed enough whilst watching but this morning it feels like a dim and distant memory, getting slightly muddled with the film of the night before. Whether any film is good or bad is entirely subjective, of course, but having looked at some reviews and stats this morning I found it far, far better than they suggest. Rotten Tomatoes isn't a site I take seriously, but a 4% rating from reviews is extreme by any standards. Such reviews, however, will attract extremes, and perhaps in Hollywood it's a greater sin to be middling than it is to be genuinely terrible. Besides, for those who need to read these things before watching, hopefully such statistics will give the audience more realistic expectations (beyond those who make up their minds to hate watch). As mentioned, my expectations were low enough, and I'm sure this helped. For me, it was never (fortunately) about attaining a life change of "road to Damascus" proportions. I wanted entertainment and an October-appropriate** thriller and I got it. And there was plenty in this film to justify the time spent watching it. * I wonder if my watch list suggestions will eventually include similar films with a killer's motif that includes I Spy, Boy-Girl-Fruit-Flower or Charades. Bizarrely I can envisage each of them working, even if the last one might be unintentionally funny as the killer silently taunts the bewildered police from behind <a href="https://www.vipcutouts.com/vip-masks/film-stars-celebrity-masks/product/5507-lionel-blair-face-mask" target="_blank">this face mask</a>.** Special mention to the hazy autumnal colours beautifully captured during a number of location scenes. Rich orange/red leaves in the background added a rich, warm contrast to the obligatory drab filters used for dark indoor scenes.</blockquote>

Verification: 6 + 4 =