The Watcher

Stylistic Incompetence

There's an element of mystery to The Watcher, but not in the plot. I want to know from whose fevered mind the dreadful amalgam of cinematographic excess emerged. I got sick of the black and white negatives and the flashes of white very, very quickly. I overdosed on the motion-blur, slo-mo, large-grain look of Annoy-O-Cam in no time. Who would do such a thing? Worse, would he think he was demonstrating an innovative visual style? Could it be cinematographer Michael Chapman? He's been behind the camera for some true classics, but he also directed Clan of the Cave Bear. No, he'd probably know better for most of it. Perhaps it was the editor, Richard Nord. Those flashes and negatives almost certainly occurred in the editing room. Maybe it was first-time director Joe Charbanic, whose name I won't feel compelled to see on a movie again.

Whoever the perpetrator, the visual mix drives a wedge between the storytelling and the audience that constantly screams "This is a movie!" This is fine when the movie has already given us a reason for looking strange, but not here. Did I complain about the Bullet Time and slo-mo in The Matrix? Of course not! The style was in service of the plot. Here, the style is used in place of a plot and developed characters.

And while we're at it, what about the music? The background track under one of the therapy sessions kept drawing me out of the story and into a device. I have a vague memory of being impressed by Marco Beltrami's score for Scream. Whatever original work he did here is painfully overwrought and unnecessary.

Nitpicking Spoilers!

• For being in the pocket of a heavy winter coat, Campbell's cell phone made Griffin sound remarkably clear. This must also be one of those magic-dial cell phones that divines the intended callee correctly. I'm sure one of those would've saved Michael Douglas a lot of trouble in Disclosure. I'm also sure Ericsson will be proud that their phones are thought to be so good.
• Since Campbell knows the message being sent by the last photo, shouldn't he maybe tell someone where he's going, or at least why? I imagine he could save the police department a lot of effort by calling off the search. Shouldn't someone at the hospital notice his absence? He was, after all, hooked up to something that started beeping when he removed it. Speaking of the last photo, it was the only one not sent FedEx. How much did they pay to slip in the notion that shipping by anyone else could lead to your death?
• I hope Polly's appalling lack of security is due to her character being a Movie Psychiatrist. Those filing cabinets should be locked five ways from Friday!
• I'm sure Kodak appreciated the subtle plug, but you can't tell me that consumer-grade film, especially Advantix, has the resolution necessary for the extraordinary details in the blow-ups of Victim #1. Even if it did, they were working from a print, not the negative. Drum scanner or no drum scanner, I think they strained credibility on that one.
• Victim #2 is homeless. She's a horrible target for this guy precisely because she has no fixed schedule in her life. Knowing that she'd be back at her place on time to be killed is a little too much. It's even less believable because Griffin is tracking Campbell so much of the time.

Truth in Criticism

I will give The Watcher credit on a few points. Marisa Tomei's character is not, strictly speaking, a love interest. Keanu Reeves is not made to look like a total dumbass for most of the movie. Best of all, the movie clocks in at a scant ninety-three minutes long.