Michael Pitt: 10 Greatest movies of all time
By Rachel Roth
9. Murder by Numbers
Release date: April 19, 2002
Box office: Grossed $9.3 million on opening weekend, ranking in as #3 at the box office and made $56,714,147 worldwide.
Critical acclaim: Murder by Numbers received a mixed to negative reception from critics, but managed to develop a small cult following and scraped up two nominations at The Chicago Film Critics Association Awards and the Young Artists Awards.
About the role: A china doll face with innocent “please don’t hurt me” eyes. Michael Pitt plays Justin Pendleton, a socially awkward genius who plans out the perfect murder with his best friend, a young pre-famous Ryan Gosling.
The character is a shy individual bullied by his schoolmates who comes off as genuinely harmless, but years of social isolation have warped his mind into something violent. Condemned by society for being different, Justin is desperate for freedom and believes that the only way to free yourself is to commit a crime without guilt, because crime is the ultimate social construct.
Simply the best: One of the many Leopold and Loeb inspired movies that’s about 40 minutes too long. The main attraction to the movie is the sexual tension between Gosling and Pitt. Gosling plays the polar opposite to Pitt’s character, an arrogant popular jock who also happens to act like a jealous boyfriend whenever his friend so much as spends time with someone else.
At one point, Gosling practically chokes Michael Pitt for hanging out with a girl, yet they’re just friends (yeah right). Watching a random scene between them looks more like a lover’s squabble than sinister crime preparation.
Sandra Bullock headlines as a troubled detective who spends half of the movie reliving a past trauma. She makes it her mission to prove their guilt, but honestly, the movie would have improved without the cop parts. I think this is also the fifth time she’s played a law enforcement type character.
The movie itself can’t decide if it wants to be a thriller or a generic cat and mouse cop drama, but there’s actually a fair quality movie somewhere in its sloppiness. One of those fantastically awful movies you can’t help but love. A guilty pleasure movie that’s like a McDonald’s meal; smells good and tastes great, but for your own good never think about what’s inside.