'Curiosity killed the cat' and othersby gradyharp

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December 21, 2008: UNTRACEABLE is a thriller that takes our current obsession with the Internet and our hunger for the grisly 'eyewitness' matter found on certain blogsites to an extreme that is at times difficult to watch - but maybe a bit too close to apparent public interest to ignore. Written by Robert Fyvolent, Mark Brinker and Allison Burnett (a fine novelist whose 'Christopher: A Tale of Seduction' and 'The House Beautiful' continue to stir interest) and directed with unrelenting tension by Gregory Hoblit, the story revolves around a misguided youth, angry over the police and media handling of his father's recent suicide, who draws attention to his serial murders using internet techniques that make the viewers of his repulsive site co-conspirators in his streaming versions of these pertinent deaths.

Diane Lane steps out of her glamour roles to appear as a single mother cyber cop whose intelligence and intuition bring her as close as one can get to the resolution of a crime. She is ably supported by a the underused Billy Burke as a fellow policeman, Mary Beth Hurt as her grounded mother, Colin Hanks as her sidekick cop, and the disturbing character role performance of young Joseph Cross.

Yes, for those who are intimately associated with the intricacies of internet jargon and possibilities there are probably a number of misfires. But for the general audience this little film is well crafted, terrifying in its imaginative story, and acted by a fine ensemble cast. Worth watching if only to see how deadly serious computer 'games' can be. Grady Harp