Friday, August 27, 2004 Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

MOVIE REVIEW: 'Suspect Zero'

Big Fat Nothing: The overly familiar 'Suspect Zero' leaves its actors struggling with their seriously underwritten roles

In remote New Mexico, FBI agent Thomas Mackelway (Aaron Eckhart, left) finally tracks down enigmatic Benjamin O'Ryan (Ben Kingsley), who may be the elusive "Suspect Zero."

Stop me if you've heard this one before.

You know, the one about the tormented FBI agent on the trail of a sicko serial killer who loves to taunt a law enforcement nemesis who's always one step behind and one minute too late to prevent another gruesome slaying.

Yes, "Suspect Zero" travels familiar -- make that overly familiar -- cinematic territory.

Yet some moviegoers still like to ramble along such well-trodden paths.

This particular one's been beaten to death, if you ask me. But if you're yearning to get down and dirty with yet another serial killer thriller, you could do worse than "Suspect Zero."

Naturally, you could also do much, much better -- by staying home and popping "The Silence of the Lambs" or "Manhunter" or "Seven" into your VCR or DVD player.

But at least "Suspect Zero" provides a few mildly intriguing variations on its creaky theme. Some of them come courtesy of the cast, notably Oscar-winner Ben Kingsley as the obligatorily brilliant killer.

And lest you think I'm spilling the beans by identifying him as such, "Suspect Zero" does exactly that in an ominous opening sequence, when a seemingly innocuous traveling salesman meets a sudden and gruesome demise at the hands of the enigmatic Benjamin O'Ryan (Kingsley).

That marks "Suspect Zero" as more of a "whydunit" than a "whodunit," setting up both a physical cat-and-mouse chase and a complex psychological pursuit.

Once we've met the apparent prey, "Suspect Zero" introduces O'Ryan's ostensible pursuer, FBI agent Thomas Mackelway (Aaron Eckhart).

A former Dallas hotshot, Mackelway's been demoted to the relative obscurity of Albuquerque, N.M., because he trampled all over the civil rights of a notorious serial killer named Raymond Starkey (Keith Campbell) during an arrest, enabling the suspect to go free.

Starkey may have been released from custody, but Mackelway's clearly a prisoner of his haunted past. Tormented by constant headaches, chugging aspirin by the bottle, the agent can't rid himself of his demons.

And more of them keep showing up all the time, especially when a mystery fax-man starts sending strange inquiries, pointing to a chain of random killings that may not be random at all.

Mackelway's former partner, the unflappable Fran Kulok (Carrie-Anne Moss), also turns up in Albuquerque, setting the stage for yet more blasts from Mackelway's troubled past -- and providing a faithful companion when the clues inevitably lead Mackelway in some mighty strange directions.

Strange, to be sure, but not always compelling.

"Suspect Zero" works overtime to create a portentous atmosphere, especially with director E. Elias Merhige calling the shots.

Merhige's credits range from Marilyn Manson videos to the stylish, Oscar-nominated "Shadow of the Vampire," which conjured the glory days of silent film, German expressionist division, by re-creating the making of the shivery 1922 classic "Nosferatu."

Alas, "Suspect Zero's" screenplay, by Zak Penn ("X-Men 2") and Billy Ray ("Shattered Glass") boasts little of the wit and flair "Shadow of the Vampire" displayed -- which in no way diminishes Merhige's flamboyant visual style.

Instead, it almost seems as though Merhige's trying to compensate for the script's plodding nature by raiding his cinematic bag of tricks.

From topsy-turvy perspectives to quirky camera angles, from eerie visions to ooky-spooky atmosphere, Merhige and Oscar-nominated cinematographer Michael Chapman ("Raging Bull," "The Fugitive") work overtime to transform "Suspect Zero" into a visual showcase.

All too often, however, their strenuous efforts only serve to highlight (or, more precisely, lowlight) the movie's convoluted plot.

"Suspect Zero" also wastes its promising New Mexico setting, teasing us with intriguing references to American Indian culture and traditions without delving into or developing any of them.

Then again, delving and developing aren't exactly "Suspect Zero's" strong suits, judging by the script's once-over-lightly characterizations.

The movie's capable cast members do what they can. But even such veterans as Moss and "Matrix" sequel colleague Harry Lennix (as Mackelway's by-the-book Albuquerque supervisor) struggle to add some texture to their seriously underwritten roles.

Eckhart, by contrast, gets a slightly more developed character to play -- but underplays it so studiously that Mackelway sometimes seems to be sleepwalking through his own psychological crises.

That leaves Kingsley -- who, bless him, chows down on his mystery-killer character (not to mention "Suspect Zero's" splendid New Mexico scenery) with undisguised gusto.

Using his diamond-drill intensity to power through the movie's many far-fetched coincidences and contrivances, Kingsley gives "Suspect Zero" a focus and a force it otherwise lacks.

As usual in these movies, the bad guy has all the fun -- for which we should all be grateful.

Because without him, "Suspect Zero" would add up to less than zero indeed.