Good suspense films are hard to come by. Some, like Inception, stand out from the crowd. Most are horrible. But a fair number end up somewhere above mediocre without necessarily being memorable. Faces in the Crowd is one of those middle-of-the-road thrillers.
Faces in the Crowd tells the story of Anna Marchant (Milla Jovovich), an engaged woman who develops face blindness after surviving an attack from a serial killer. Marchant seeks help from Dr. Lagenkamp (Marianne Faithfull) who describes her condition as an inability to recognize facial features. In fact, Marchant doesn't even recognize her own reflection in the mirror.
Marchant's inability to recognize faces frustrates the case investigator, Kerrest (Julian Mahon). Marchant is the only living witness to have seen the serial killer. Her inability to recall any details about the killer complicates the investigation. Marchant works on her memory with Dr. Lagenkamp, learning how to rely on other queues to identify people, although her system is less than perfect. The serial killer develops a strange infatuation with Marchant, who begins to develop a relationship with Kerrest while being stalked by her attacker. Marchant must rely on her instincts in the absence of her visual queues in order to survive.
Director Julien Magnat developed the screenplay for Faces in the Crowd with the assistance of consultant Kelly Smith. The concept is actually interesting, although the plot seemed to be missing depth. Magnat maximizes the subject matter to develop his plot, but the film felt off track at times. The characters were marginally interesting, but also could have benefited from better character development. I thought Magnat effectively used multiple actors in some of the roles to give the viewers a point-of-view perspective. With better character development and stronger plot twists, this film might have broken from the pack of average thrillers. As it stands, the movie was entertaining but forgettable.
Milla Jovovich is often just a pretty face (Resident Evil). It's nice to see her in a film where she actually gets to act. She is a good actress. I realized that after seeing her in .45. While her role in .45 seemed cast based on her appearance, I enjoyed her for her performance. She pretty much carries this film, since the other major characters are played by several actors, other than Mahon's character. Mahon had good chemistry with Jovovich (who wouldn't?) and put in a credible performance. The cast was solid, it was more the development of the characters and plot that suffered in this film. The film is rated R with a run time of one hour, 43 minutes.
Faces in the Crowd takes an interesting concept and maximizes the potential for creating tension through ambiguity. In spite of that tactic, the film managed to be predictable. The plot and characters were flat, although I found Jovovich and Mahon to be engaging. I would have liked more development of the characters, especially the relationship between the two, which seemed a bit rushed. The concept and performances were strengths. With a bit more development, this suspense film could have broken from the pack and been a memorable film. Instead, it manages to be average. 6/10.
