The power of fear

Lincoln Rime ( Denzel Washington ) - a professional investigator , author of many books and textbooks on forensics , was bedridden as a result of a heavy object falling on him during one of the forensic operations. His body is completely paralyzed, except for one finger on his left hand, which he controls a personal computer . Rhyme’s life now depends on Telma’s life support system and nurse. Lincoln despaired of recovering, another bout of dysreflexia could just turn his body into a " vegetable ", he dreams of suicide and has already agreed on this with the doctor.

Young juvenile inspector Amelia Donahi ( Angelina Jolie ) discovers the corpse of a man who was buried alive near the New York Railways during the Civil War . It turns out to be construction magnate Alan Rubin, the skin is cut off on the finger of the corpse and his wife’s ring is left, which also disappeared. Donahi takes the initiative to keep the crime scene and his evidence intact. In the end, she ends up at Rime with his former colleagues.

The evidence found at the crime scene allows you to find Rubin's wife in the underground part of the financial district of New York. However, she dies during the descent of the steam , being chained to the pipe in ancient shackles. A part of the skin and a piece of bone were cut off from the victim’s body, as well as the previous time, a piece of paper was left, Lincoln suggests that the criminal is connected with criminalistics, and having studied the archives, he finds several similar crimes committed in the city over the past few years. Thus, the offender deliberately makes contact with the police, leaving clues in the places of killings.

The killer kidnaps the student and leaves him in an abandoned slaughterhouse , having previously cut out part of the bone and lured the rats with blood. Amelia and Lincoln use the left clues to find the crime scene, but the victim is already dead. Captain Howard Cheney disapproves of Ryme's role in this investigation, repairing bureaucratic obstacles.

After studying the paper fragments, the characters guess in it the emblem of the publication of books of the beginning of the XX century. Amelia finds the Bone Collector detective in the library, in which each of the murders committed is described and engraved in detail. With the help of the find, they find new victims of the maniac: the grandfather and granddaughter were tied to the pier during the rise of the water, only the girl can be saved. At the crime scene, Amelia finds a piece of bone, an old police badge and a metro map. Having studied it, she arrives at an abandoned metro station, where a series of numbers are drawn. In them, she guesses the number of the police badge Reima.

The killer comes home to Lincoln and kills Telma and Cheney. The culprit is a medical specialist, Richard Thompson, who monitors the work of Rime's medical equipment. However, his real name is Richard Marcus Andrews. He is a former forensic forensic scientist who, thanks to Raim’s testimony, was sentenced to six years in prison for faking analyzes and evidence. Upon his release, he began to take revenge on the forensic scientist. Andrews says that in past deaths there is a share of Lincoln's guilt, who failed to solve the prompts in time. Marcus decides to turn off the policeman’s life support device, but he manages to damage the attacker's right hand by dropping the bed down on it. Both are on the floor, Andrews is trying to stab Raima, but in time Amelia appears, manages to shoot the offender.

Friends and colleagues gather in Lincoln’s apartment for Christmas; his sister and his family come. Viewers are made aware that the forensic scientist is now in a relationship with Amelia.

Cinema expert S. V. Kudryavtsev notes that “the two most amazing problems are connected ” with the fact that

Firstly, such a forensic scientist as Rime, who knew by heart everything that was even a hundred years ago, simply could not help but know about the old criminal collection called The Bone Collector, which guides the killer. Secondly, wanting to direct the suspicions of the audience on a false trail, the authors at the very end overdo it, leaving this main suspect literally on the street, as if false evidence had already become unnecessary. ^[2]

At the same time, Kudryavtsev notes that

But, in principle, the film does not look without interest, even if it borrows a lot from the samples of the genre of clever psychopathological thriller - for example, from the films “Silence of the Lambs” and “Seven”. And, by the way, to some extent he returns to the detective intrigue the forgotten notion of “ Sherlockholms deduction ”, when you can “promote the case” without even leaving your room threshold, if you have at hand detailed information about the crime that happened, and in partners - assistants - a kind of neophyte in forensics, like Dr. Watson . And therefore, an unfortunate desire for the bones-gatherers creators to complement the criminal narrative with an insulating lyrical line in the relationship between two detectives of different sex and skin color, and even with a considerable age difference, should be considered an unfortunate search for the audience’s tastes. ^[2]

Based on 85 reviews of Rotten Tomatoes, the film received a rating of 28% and scored 4.2 out of 10 points. ^[3]

Based on 33 reviews of Metacritic, the film received 45 out of 100. ^[4]

Film critic Andrew Sarris notes that the film

portrays himself as an externally elegant, often terrifying thriller that tries to make a Manhattan taxi as dangerous as taking a shower at the Psychosis Motel (1960) Alfred Hitchcock [...] The film looks and develops better than can be understood from the detailed printed annotation . The intricate series of changing points of view, endow each entry with a dazzling variety of contemplative reviews that elevate and ennoble characters without the need for stupid ostracism. Chess metaphors and composite riddle pictures are used both in dialogs and in the mise-en-scene . New York comes to life as a luminous abstraction, whose towers calmly rise above the times of the ongoing atrocities hidden in its deepest depths. The bone collector breaks up at the end, however, along with an inappropriately optimistic Christmas celebration bringing the line to an alarmingly pessimistic and pathological interweaving of events. ^[five]

Original text

manifests itself as a visually elegant, often gruesome thriller that tries to make hailing a cab in Manhattan seem as dangerous as taking a shower in a motel was in Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho (1960). [...] The movie looks and plays better than it might seem from a detailed print plot synopsis. The intricate series of shifting viewpoints endows every occurrence with a dazzling variety of contemplative reactions that enhance and ennoble the characters without the need for fatuous rhetoric. The metaphors of chess and jigsaw puzzles are invoked and exploited both in the dialogue and in the mise en scène. New York comes alive as a luminous abstraction that towers imperturbably over the occasionally insane atrocities buried in its lower depths. The Bone Collector falls apart at the end, however, with an inappropriately optimistic Christmas-cheer wrap-up of a disturbingly pessimistic and pathological package.

Film critic Lisa Schwarzbaum considers: ^[6]

Prior to the ridge, an exquisitely made thriller, inspired by the baroque torture of The Seven and The Silence of the Lambs . Denzel Washington breathed acting passion into an exhausted genre, like a paralyzed detective who guides the search for the obsessed serial killer from his bed; Washington knocks out ostentatious mood swings from Angelina Jolie, like her touchy, moving partner.

Original text

A skeleton-thin, glamorously produced thriller for an audience aroused by the baroque tortures in Seven and The Silence of the Lambs. Denzel Washington breathes actorly passion into an exhausted genre as a paralyzed detective who directs the search for a fetishistic serial killer from his bed; Washington also buffets the theatrical mood swings of Angelina Jolie as his tetchy, ambulatory partner.

Journalist Eric S. Arnold in Newsweek writes that: ^[7]

The gloomy, drizzling, sandy "Bone Collector" is very reminiscent of the content of " Seven ". The companionship of a veteran cop and a newcomer to the capture of a serial killer - the one who in this case commits his crimes according to an old novel, is also familiar. Nevertheless, the “Bone Collector” presents this standard, a very tedious Hollywood formula, in a special twist: veteran investigator Lincoln Rime (Denzel Washington) paralyzed in the limbs, can instruct newcomer Amelia Donahue (Angelina Jolie) only within the boundaries of her bed. This sensual, pronounced game of Washington distinguishes the "Dice Collector" from the many. Despite their relationship, the love story between Washington and Jolie at times flows into sentimentality , but, fortunately, director Philip Neuss introduces healthy doses of the comic to keep things for the future. Indeed, even the darkest, most terrifying scenes are flavored with humor, thereby adding a grain of realism, where detectives do the best despite the hopeless situation. The “bone collector” may be stereotyped, but absorbed a lot of good.

Original text

The dark, drizzly, gritty feel of "The Bone Collector" is highly reminiscent of the setting of "Seven." Familiar also is the pairing of a veteran cop with a rookie to catch a serial killer - one who in this case happens to model his crimes on those in an old novel. However, "The Bone Collector" gives this standard, often tiresome Hollywood formula a unique twist: veteran forensic detective Lincoln Rhyme (Denzel Washington) is a quadriplegic who can mentor rookie Amelia Donaghy (Angelina Jolie) only from the confines of his bed. It is Washington's emotionally charged, fiercely convincing performance that makes "The Bone Collector" stand out from the pack. Despite their chemistry, the love story between Washington and Jolie descends at times into sentimentality, but fortunately director Philip Noyce injects healthy doses of comic relief to keep things in perspective. Indeed even the darkest, most horrific scenes, are leavened with humor, thereby adding an element of realism as the detectives make the best of an otherwise bleak situation. "The Bone Collector" may be formulaic — but many good recipes are.

in Russian

• Kudryavtsev S. V. The Power of Fear The Bone Collector, 1999 // 3500. Book of film reviews . In 2 volumes. - M .: Pechatny Dvor, 2008. - T. 1. AM. - 688 p. - 3000 copies. - ISBN 978-5-9901318-1-1 , ISBN 978-5-9901318-3-5 .

in other languages

• Anderson, Jeffrey M. Bad to the 'Bone' // Combustible Celluloid. - 1999.
• Harvey, Dennis. Review: 'The Bone Collector' // Variety . - 08/11/1999.
• Holden, Stephen . The Bone Collector (1999) FILM REVIEW; A Taxi Ride To Torture Provokes A Chase // The New York Times . - 11/05/1999.
• Longino, Bob. The Bone Collector // Cox News Service . - February 13, 2006. Archived February 13, 2006.
• Millar, Jeff . The Bone Collector // Houston Chronicle . - March 11, 2004. Archived on September 10, 2005.
• Schwarzbaum, Lisa . The Bone Collector // Entertainment Weekly . - 11/19/1999.
• Sarris, Andrew . With His Little Finger, Washington Bags Bad Guy // The New York Observer . - 11/07/1999. Archived March 3, 2010.

• Official movie website
• " The Power of Fear ” on the Internet Movie Database
• The Power of Fear on the allmovie website
• The Power of Fear on Box Office Mojo