While on their honeymoon in Europe a young American couple
is killed during their stop in London. The girl’s father Jacob Kanon (Jeffrey
Dean Morgan) goes over to identify her body. A 30 year veteran New York City
detective even he is stunned at the brutality and strangeness of their murder.
His ex-wife Valerie (Famke Janssen) comes over as well and asks him to pursue
the killer, but he already had that in mind.
This begins THE POSTCARD KILLINGS based on the novel by
James Patterson of Alex Cross fame and Liza Marklund. Published in 2010 the
journey from book to film was stalled for years until RJL finally picked up the
reins and got the job done. All involved have done a fantastic job.
As Jacob starts looking into things he’s told by the London
Police not to get involved. Then he hears on the news that a postcard was sent
to a London newspaper and passed along to the police by the alleged killer.
When he approaches them asking to see the evidence he is denied and told to let
them handle the job. Determined to find the killer with or without them, he
lets them know that they had their chance for his expertise to be added to the
case.
Gathering information he begins to assemble the bits and
pieces, the clues that will lead to the killer. It turns out this wasn’t an
isolated incident and more killings have taken place across Europe. Each of the
victims was mutilated in a strange fashion, body parts removed to appear at the
next murder sight. The killer is also posing the victim’s bodies as well.
As Jacob assembles the clues he’s led to Swedish art critic
Dessie Larsson (Cush Jumbo), the latest journalist to receive a postcard. The
Swedish police tell him not to get involved. A joint European task force has
been assembled to track down the killer and bring him to justice before more
people are killed.
Working together off the books the pair gather the
information needed to find the killer, eventually discovering it’s not one but
a couple committing the atrocities. Not only that but the phrases found on the
postcards are passages from the Bible. And the poses are from various famous
works of art. But there is a reason for both of these things being clues to the
identity of the killers, a reason that Jacob and Dessie will learn before the
police.
As the date grows closer to the next murders the police are
at a loss. New cities and new victims pop up across the continent. Each one is
grisly and at one the hands of Jacob’s daughter, cut from her body when she was
murdered, appear. While shut out of the investigation a sympathetic German
detective befriends Jacob and passes information on to him. As the trail
narrows suspects are arrested and released with no evidence. Working outside
the law, it’s up to Jacob to bring them in.
The movie works on many levels, most importantly because of
the acting of Jeffrey Dean Morgan. Most will recognize him as Negan from THE
WALKING DEAD series but he’s been around for some time. He shines here as
Jacob, both tormented and driven at the same time, a father determined to find
justice for the woman who will always be his little girl. He carries the weight
of the film on his shoulders and does an admirable job of it, making the
character sympathetic and believable.
Critics of the film have called it predictable. Most
mysteries these days are. They’ve also slammed it as seeming like CSI: EUROPE.
I found neither to be true and this is coming from someone who watches and
reads a ton of mysteries. While the police procedural side is there it has been
for the entire history of film mysteries. This one adds to that the task force
compiled of several countries.
The lone outsider working outside the system has been used
before as well but in the end does it matter? The movie provides a decent
mystery at first that melds into a story of trying to find a way to convict and
hold those responsible accountable for their actions. In the hands of all
involved the movie delivers on all counts. The pacing is slow but works,
allowing the story to be told. Don’t expect the usual shoot em up/explosion
quotient from a Hollywood films but instead a well thought out story and you’ll
find this as entertaining as I did.
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