Writer: Sean Bailey, Ted Griffin (Screenplay)
Starring: Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Colin Farrell, Abbie Cornish, Anthony Hopkins, Xander Berkeley, Marley Shelton, Janine Turner, Kenny Johnson
Plot: A psychic works with the FBI in order to hunt down a serial killer.
There may be spoilers the rest of the review
Verdict: Too Many False Moments
Story: Solace starts with Agents Merriweather (Morgan) & Cowles (Cornish) dealing with a serial killer that has strike before, Joe wants to bring in a specialist against his partners wishes, a psychic John Clancy (Hopkins). John has been out of the game after the tragic death of his daughter but his friendship with Joe pushes him into looking into this latest case.
As the three investigate the serial killer they learn the shocking truth that he can see into the future and he has been selecting his victims from people that have terminal illnesses that he puts out of their misery.
Solace is a cat and mouse film that has psychic versus psychic but we spend large portions of this film flashing between what has happened and what could happen to the characters involved. It all becomes very messy to start with, the next problem is that we have to deal with the fact we only meet the killer very late on in the film. On the positives we get a very interesting moral question about whether we could deal with watching or going through the suffering terminal illness causes and if we would want it over quickly. This will end up disappointing in the mystery thriller side of the story but morally it is a good film.
Actor Review
Jeffrey Dean Morgan: Agent Joe Merriweather is the lead in the partnership that wants to bring in his psychic John Clancy, a man he has worked with before who help solve multiply cases in the past. He a family man that became close with John during their time working together and considered him a close friend, but he is hiding something from his friends, family but John can see it. Jeffrey is good in this role even though he really just looks like a standard FBI agent.
Colin Farrell: Charles Ambrose is the serial killer who believes he is putting people out of their own misery through quick painless death before they end up having to suffer from a terminal illness. He can see how anyone is going to die and uses this his psychic abilities to make his decisions. Colin is good as this character but we don’t meet him until too late in the film.
Abbie Cornish: Agent Katherine Cowles is the partner to Joe, she is a trained psychological doctor who doesn’t believe in psychics which creates a clash between her and John. She has to put her differences a side without putting John’s methods to shame to try and uncover the answers to who is the killer. Abbie is good but the reality is she is just a basic FBI agent.
Anthony Hopkins: John Clancy is a psychic who works with FBI before giving up everything when his daughter dies. When this newest case comes his way he finds himself tracking a new serial killer that offers him a question of whether he would have wanted his daughter to suffer from her terminal illness or not. Anthony feels kind of out of place in this one where he is good in certain scene but almost looks tired in other scenes.
Support Cast: Solace has a supporting cast that all works for where this film is going without being too involved with the final outcome of the story.
Director Review: Afonso Poyart – Afonso gives us a film that is filled with flashbacks or flash-forwards which gets mixed up with the story which is also a run of the mill cat and mouse chase.
Mystery: Solace makes us wonder about the serial killer but never offers us enough to investigate as a viewer.
Thriller: Solace doesn’t even keep us guessing until the like a film like this is meant to be.
Settings: Solace doesn’t seem to create any special when it comes to locations being used.
Special Effects: Solace has solid effects to show the flashbacks and flash-forwards in what could happen.
Suggestion: Solace is one to try but don’t expect to see too much special in this one. (Try It)
Best Part: Moral question being asked.
Worst Part: Not enough of the Killer.
Believability: No
Chances of Tears: No
Chances of Sequel: No
Post Credits Scene: No
Oscar Chances: No
Runtime: 1 Hour 41 Minutes
Trivia: The script for this movie was originally picked up by New Line Cinema, with the intention to rewrite it as a sequel to Se7en (1995), tentatively titled Ei8ht. The main character was supposed to be Se7en’s Detective William Somerset who had acquired psychic powers. This idea was dropped after Se7en director David Fincher reacted negatively to the idea, after which it was produced as a stand-alone film.
Overall: Lacklustre mystery thriller that doesn’t get into the action quick enough.
Rating