Jennifer Chambers Lynch, one would assume had been nursing her pride from the dreadful reception of her debut, Boxing Helena. Fifteen years later she releases Surveillance. This one, a murder mystery, is a major improvement but it still has problems. It is a well-crafted seventy minute movie with a remaining twenty minutes of clumsiness, bad writing and a twist which unfortunately is predictable. The movie comes apart when it needs to come together, and the result is medium good, when it could have been very good.

FBI agents Anderson and Halloway for months have been investigating a series of interstate serial killings. The latest chapter in their investigation brings the stories of two odd-ball cops, a dis-communal family on a road trip, and a couple of coke-snorting kids, together in Rashomon fashion.

I like the way Surveillance plays out. Lynch keeps everything slow and mannered, unlike Boxing Helena which is over-blown from the beginning. Lynch is able to keep the film under control, but unfortunately is unable to pull the wool over the viewer's eyes. The answers we are looking for become obvious too quickly, making one question whether her intention was to have the viewer fooled or not. Survaillance is not designed to be conventional thriller. It is too deep and psychological for that, but it sort of ends like one.

If I was gonna label Surveillance in a word, it would be 'bitter'. When it's over, you come to realize that none of the characters (save one or two small roles) are all that respectable. Lynch's screenplay breaks them down into those who mistreat and those who get mistreated, sometimes both. On a positive note it contributes significantly to the drama or tension of the picture. There is a major lack of heart to the film, although at the same time, there is a certain lack of credibility as a side effect. Any attempt to explain may be a spoiler so I wont go that far, but that raises another question...

If I don't intend to spoil it, does that mean I am recommending it? Well, truth be told, I didn't dislike Surveillance. It is eerie and grim, which is certain a plus for a thriller, but the outcome is kind of disappointing. My advice: watch it only if you are curious, but it is not a movie that needs to be seen.

"Surveillance" starts so promising... its a pretty raw movie and from the obscure opening on to the landscape shots, introduction of the characters until the unfolding of the stories begins its interesting while not using any music or effects or whatever. Basically the movie is about a couple of FBI agents who are interrogating three survivors of a bloody crime and trying to find out what happened. The way the story is told through the eyes of the different survivors who all got something to hide and therefore all tell different stories while the real occurrences are shown is really interesting and tense. The characters, especially the twisted corrupt cops, the little girl and the drug-addict are also great and everyone in that backwoods police station where the interrogations take place delivers. Funny thing is... to me the 2 FBI agents are the least interesting although they are the main characters.

So the whole story is unfolding, interweaving different points of views and everyone being suspicious, the crime is even shown in a pretty brutal way and the movie has a strange nihilistic feeling to it right until the bleak closing shot. Especially the way how the corrupt cops act out somehow really got to me.

But then in its most important part, the final resolution of the story they go for a twist of the most idiotic kind...

SPOILER ALERT:

The FBI agents are the killers and the whole movie was just a kind of sick mind game. Yeah, pretty smart... problem is that nothing makes any sense at all. You don't get explanations to why they make such a big hassle of interrogating everyone for hours just to kill them in the end and having some strange sexual pleasure of it. Sure, the real FBI agents are found dead in a hotel room and identified by their badges, but how the hell our 2 smartasses identified themselves as FBI agents? How did they learn to set up and operate their interrogation surveillance equipment and why does the little girl only tell her secrets to the most demented people around... first the cops after harassing her family, then the killer who killed her family. No explanation in any of the actions of her or her family. Its just a bad twist turning the whole movie upside down and leaving you with a total mess of a story that looked so promising when you didn't yet know what was happening.

Until the last quarter I really liked "Surveillance", then i started to hate it. I guess that still makes it a clean average movie...