Faces in the Crowd is a psychological thriller with a twist starring Milla Jovovich. That twist is a strange but all too real disorder Prosopagnosia. People who suffer from it are unable to recognize faces, essentially making everyone they meet just “faces in the crowd”. Strap this concept to a body of your standard-issue serial killer movie and you got yourself a winner. However, there are far too many cliches here for my liking. So, just lower your expectations a bit and you should be fine.
If you’re an avid movie watcher, sometimes you need these sorts of movies. They’re definitely time-killers but just engaging enough to warrant a viewing. The main concept had a lot of potential but the execution was quite messy. Although, the whole disorder thing is thought-provoking enough to cover up most of the major flaws. Just imagine not being able to recognize your friends or your family members and you’ll know what I’m talking about.
Milla Jovovich was a sight for sore eyes here and without her, I think that Faces in the Crowd would be just another flawed serial killer movie. As you would imagine there’s a lot of mystery here and the looming question of who done it. Necessary ingredients for any movie in this genre. I also liked the psychological angle of dealing with such a strange condition. Some of these scenes, especially the ones with the psychiatrist, were better than the killer stuff.
Anna Marchant is a teacher in a local elementary school. She lives a simple life with her boyfriend Bryce. After a night out with her girlfriends, she witnesses a horrific murder. And the serial killer decides to claim his next victim right then and there. He throws her off the bridge but miraculously Anna survives. Only now she can’t recognize faces making her life incredibly difficult. And the killer is still on the loose…
Faces in the Crowd reminded me of Before I Go to Sleep starring Nicole Kidman. In that movie, Kidman losses her memory every time she goes to sleep. And because of this, she can’t identify the man who assaulted her years ago. Finally, the abundance of cliches also provides an opportunity to make fun of the movie as it unfolds. Try to guess who the killer is and how the final showdown is going to go. And I’m guessing you’re going to be right. There’s not much to talk about here, so be sure to check out the rest of our Subversive Rabbit Who Done It Movies.
Director: Julien Magnat
Writers: Julien Magnat, Agnès Caffin, Kelly Smith
Cast: Milla Jovovich, Sarah Wayne Callies, Julian McMahon, Michael Shanks, Marianne Faithfull
Fun Facts: Famous British actor Stephen Fry also suffers from Prosopagnosia.
Rating:
IMDb Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1536410/
