John Clancy (Anthony Hopkins) is a psychic who can see people’s future by touching them and touching objects — although sometimes he just has visions without touching anyone or anything just because he’s a psychic, you know. He worked with the FBI in a number of cases in the past, but now he pretty much lives secluded ever since his 20-something daughter’s death from leukaemia — to make him more of cliché, he also drifted apart from his wife following their loss.
Nevertheless, FBI agent Joe Merriweather (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) calls him to ask for help in a serial killing case nobody seems to be able to crack. Because whereas the killer (Colin Farrell) leaves some clues here and there, there are no forensic details or evidence of any kind. To make matters worse, John realizes that the killer also has psychic abilities. In fact, this serial killer outdoes him big time. Which should mean that catching him would be nearly impossible — but afterwards it turns out it was quite easy.
This story of a psychic working with the FBI to hunt down a serial killer has been the stuff of many movies before. And if you have the faintest idea that Solace is going to bring something new to such an overworked scenario, then dream on. Actually, the fact that the killer is also a psychic — which means you should expect a duel between psychics at the end — is all the more disappointing.
Of course, the psychic is a withdrawn smartass, yet deep down he’s a caring man who’s suffering in solitude. The FBI agent is also a sensitive man who bears his own personal burden: he’s also stricken down with cancer — first in remission, but then spreading again conveniently when the script says so. The female FBI agent who helps him out is … well, it’s hard to say what she’s like because she’s such an underwritten character that you wonder why she exists at all. To be fair, there’s a very contrived ending seen twice, first in a premonition and then in reality, that needed someone on the verge of losing their life. Other than that, she’s useless.
And there’s the psychopathic killer. He’s got great looks, a deranged gaze, a carefully restrained tone of voice, and the required personal philosophy that justifies his mercy killings, as he calls them. Because he only kills terminally-ill people who were in agony and were going to suffer even more in the near future. Basically, this is a serious film with serious ideas about serious issues: the many meanings of justice, morals at large, the unmistakable hand of destiny, to be or not to be God — you get the point.
Add to the above a handful of tacky premonitions meant to have a dreamlike nature and yet they looking like scenes taken right out of a posh and polished TV commercial, a heavy-handed and disruptive musical score that seems to belong to a different movie, the two psychics spelling out their views on life and death in their duel, artificial dialogue with trite one-liners, the fact that the serial killer appears an hour into the film when you were about to exit the theatre, some unexplainable montage sequences with moronic symbolism, and an awful use of hand-held camera.
And don’t get me started on the subtext because there’s simply none. What you see is what you get, and what you get is considerably less than what you have in your average serial killer thriller — with or without psychics.
Production notes
Solace (US, 2015). Directed by Alfonso Poyart. With: Sir Anthony Hopkins, Colin Farrell, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Abbie Cornish. Editing: Lucas Gonzaga. Running time: 101 minutes.
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