The Bone Collector
1999 · Directed by Phillip Noyce
Original language: English
- crime
- thriller
- drama
- mystery
The story
Lincoln Rhyme was the department's top homicide detective and leading expert in criminal forensics until an injury left him paralyzed, depressed, and incapable of working. But when a gruesome murder in Manhattan leaves detectives baffled, they call on Rhyme to help solve the mystery. Amelia Donaghy, a rookie cop whose quick thinking preserved a gruesome murder scene, is enlisted by Rhyme to be his on-the-scene forensics expert. With Amelia reluctantly acting as Rhyme's able-bodied go-between, the pair piece together cryptic clues the killer leaves behind at the scene of the crime, hoping to catch the grisly serial killer.
What it’s like
Cold, rain-slicked Manhattan in muted blues and sickly greens, with the city's grit close at hand: wet pavement, a yellow cab's glow, crime-scene tape snapping in the wind. Much of the film is confined to a converted brownstone bedroom, where the light is controlled and clinical, and the camera lingers on evidence bags, magnifying glasses and shaky close-ups of fibres and footprints. The score is restless, with tense strings and sudden silences that let a creaking floorboard feel loud. The pace is brisk and procedural, built on scenes of careful deduction, with the sense of time running out as each new clue arrives. Its tone is tense and cerebral, with a gritty, adult chill rather than a cosy one. The arc follows a paralysed, bitter investigator who slowly relies on a wary young rookie, and their prickly partnership warms over the course of the case. Intensity is high: grisly murder and mutilated bodies are shown in detail, with frequent peril and a few brutal confrontations, though the gore stays mostly on the level of forensic display. Not gentle. For viewers who want a sharp, atmospheric hunt for a serial killer, with a rain-soaked city and a clever puzzle at its centre.
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