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Murder by Numbers (2002)

R  |   |  Crime, Drama, Thriller  |  19 April 2002 (USA)
6.1
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Ratings: 6.1/10 from 41,484 users   Metascore: 50/100
Reviews: 300 user | 134 critic | 35 from Metacritic.com

Two gifted high school students execute a "perfect" murder - then become engaged in an intellectual contest with a seasoned homicide detective.

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Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
...
...
...
...
...
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Ray Feathers
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Captain Rod Cody
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Asst. D.A. Al Swanson
Janni Brenn ...
Ms. Elder
John Vickery ...
Restaurant Manager
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Mr. Chechi
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Olivia Lake, the Victim
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Male Officer in Flashback
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Lab Technician
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Lawyer
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Storyline

Richard Haywood, a Californian high school's coolest kid, secretly teams up with another rich kid in his class, brilliant nerd Justin 'Bonaparte' Pendleton, whose erudition, specially in forensic matters, allows them to plan elaborately perfect murders, just for the kick, for which they set up Richard's marijuana supplier, their school's janitor Ray Feathers, as a psychotic serial killer. The case is assigned to detectives Cassie 'the hyena' Mayweather, who carries a sequoia-size chip on the shoulder from her previous life, and her brilliant new partner, Sam Kennedy, who just transferred from the vice squad; they can work together very well, and even fit romantically, but fall out over different professional attitudes towards the investigation, which Captain Rod Cody and her understandably vindictive abused ex, Assistant D.A. Al Swanson, soon ban her from when she disobeys instructions and hand to him. When the plotting boys both dig class-mate Lisa Mills, their unnatural bond comes ... Written by KGF Vissers

Plot Summary | Add Synopsis

Taglines:

Let The Mind Games Begin See more »

Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence, language, a sex scene and brief drug use | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

 »
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Details

Country:

Language:

Release Date:

19 April 2002 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

Foolproof  »

Box Office

Budget:

$50,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$9,307,394 (USA) (19 April 2002)

Gross:

$685,907 (Australia) (15 November 2002)
 »

Company Credits

Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

| |

Color:

(Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1
See  »
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Did You Know?

Trivia

Justin (Michael Pitt) is quoting Arthur Rimbaud and reading Rimbaud's famous poem "The Drunken Boat" in one scene. At the beginning he is lecturing philosophy inspired by Friedrich Nietzsche. See more »

Goofs

When Cassie first looks at the blurry picture of Richard from the ATM there is a Range Rover in the background (to the left) but when we see the picture later, after it has been cleaned up, the Range Rover is gone. See more »

Quotes

[first lines]
Richard: Shall we say the words one last time?
Justin: One cannot live fully without embracing suicide in crime.
Richard: Say it.
Justin: A pact made with relentless fire that requires that, while some live, others die.
Richard: On three...
in unison: One, two, three
[gun shot]
See more »

Connections

References The Bitter Tea of General Yen (1933) See more »

Soundtracks

London Rain (Nothing Heals Me Like You Do)
(uncredited)
Performed by Heather Nova
See more »

Frequently Asked Questions

See more (Spoiler Alert!) »

User Reviews

 
Pretty Cliche, and the kids get all the good scenes
29 November 2002 | by (SF Bay Area, CA) – See all my reviews

I predicted too many things in this movie and the only thing that kept my interest were the two young actors playing teenagers. They seemed to have the stronger and by far, more interesting scenes. They definitely seemed to have more to do than our star, Sandra Bullock.

Bullock always plays this independent character that lives alone and has predictable "back story" issues. I would like to see her do something a little more challenging.

Not bad, just not great. 6/10


26 of 36 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you?

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