The unimaginatively titled 'To Catch A Killer' is a welcome throwback, a lean, straightforward investigative procedural. The most recent film this reminded me of was 'The Little Things' (2021), only there the nostaliga was more overt with its early 90's setting. 'To Catch a Killer' has a contemporary setting, explicitly post Covid, it's a variant on the 'Silence of the Lambs' type investigative thriller with a psychological edge, here with some 21st century cultural markers, gay marriage, survilance state, Proud Boy's types etc.
Set in Baltimore, a mass shooter has killed 29 people under cover of a New Years fireworks display. Ben Mendelshon is leading the FBI task force, his right hand man is Jovan Adepo. Shailene Woodley is a beat cop who happens to be at a crime scene and later at a briefing that Mendelshon is giving, she demonstrates an unusual perceptivness as to the shooters apparent psychology, this owing to her own traumatic childhood. Sensing raw talent Mendelshon recruits her as his liaison with Baltimore PD and as an assistant, he wants to mentor her, Woodley at first fears he wants to sleep with her, he dosen't, he's in a commited homosexual marriage.
Mendelshon and crew continue their investigation in the face of more shootings, false leads and beurocratc second guessing. This is solid, in my book as long as the mystery is at least somewhat interesting and the lead characters likable, it's hard to go wrong with this kind of story telling. I have some minor issues with the ending and one or two other things but on the whole I enjoyed this well put together film. Like 'The Little Things' critics have been luke warm to it, but I'd give it a solid ***
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