Hawkeye Reviews: Law Abiding Citizen
Many people have been calling F. Gary Gray’s “Law Abiding Citizen” a completely preposterous film, which I found strange at first because the first two acts are completely plausible. But then, with the big reveal in the third act, the entire film comes crashing down, and the rumors of implausibility are brought to life.
The film opens with robbers breaking into the home of Clyde Shelton (Gerard Butler) and his wife and daughter. Clyde is restrained and left helpless as his wife and daughter are murdered. When those responsible are caught, a lawyer, Nick Rice (Jamie Foxx), informs Clyde that their best bet is to make a deal where one of the robbers testifies against the other, sending one to death row and the other to prison on a murder charge, but only for a few years. This obviously upsets Clyde, who believes that justice has not been done, but is told by Nick that if they were to lose the trial, both men could go free.
Ten years later, the robber sent to death row is brutally murdered due to the lethal injection chemicals being switched. Meanwhile, Clyde gets his revenge on the other murderer by doing some very nasty things involving bolt cutters and a box knife. Clyde is caught and sent to prison, but he has only just begun. Other murders begin happening that Clyde has knowledge of. Nick and his partners must figure out how Clyde is committing these murders, or if he is even doing them at all.
This film starts off really well. It sets itself up as a mystery where we have to figure out how Clyde is able to commit these crimes while being confined in a cell. There are moments of great suspense as Clyde gives Nick details of the potential murders at first, but then, Philadelphia comes under complete chaos as the murders begin happening without warning, involving those who were part of Clyde’s case ten years earlier.
Clyde actually holds the city under his thumb while everyone tries to figure out how everything is being done. The most common theory is that Clyde must have an accomplice. But if this is true, then who is it? If it is Clyde himself, then how could he possibly be doing these things from a cell in solitary confinement?
This is the fascinating story that is set up in the first two acts, but is then completely thrown out the window for the third act. When the big reveal is made as to how these murders are being done, we are asked to believe a lot of preposterous things, mainly that the prison system is incredibly lacking. To say more could get into spoiler territory, but trust me, you’ll know what I mean when you see it.
Jamie Foxx and Gerard Butler make a great pair on screen. They are what makes the tension and suspense work in the first two acts of the film. The fact that they were able to play out the last few scenes without collapsing under the weight of absurdity just goes to show how good they are at their profession (particularly for Foxx, as Butler has had his fair share of absurdity just earlier this year in “Gamer”).
“Law Abiding Citizen” could have been something really special, or at least a thoroughly pleasing, suspenseful ride. The screenplay was written by Kurt Whimmer, who gave us the excellent “Equilibrium,” but also the disappointing “Ultraviolet.” Whimmer is no stranger to interesting storylines, but unfortunately, he decided to take what was interesting about this film and through it back in the audience’s face, giving us an ending that is not only unbelievable, but disappointing in how little there is to it. What we have here is two-thirds of a good movie that could have been much more.
2.5/4 stars.
Related Posts:
