# Deceiver (1997)

### reviewed by
Travis Cottreau

    Deceiver:
    Staring Tim Roth, Michael Rooker, Chris Penn and Renee Zellweger
    Directed by Jonas Pate
    Written by Josh and Jonas Pate

Tim Roth plays a possible suspect (and the only lead) in a murder case where the victim was killed, and the two pieces of her body were found miles apart. Needless to say, there is lots of political pressure to solve this crime and the two policemen (played by Michael Rooker and Chris Penn) don't really have much to go on. Almost the entire movie is set in the police interrogation room.

Shades of "The Usual Suspects", "Deceiver" is full of quick plot twists and lots of head games that leaves the audience guessing all the way through. The movie, however, fails to play by the rules and leaves the viewer with lots of questions and no answers. I have to admit, up until the final seconds of the movie, I was convinced that it was going to be really good, then the credits roll and I had to say, "HUH! What the #$%! was that!"

If you're going to make a "shell game" type movie, it would be helpful if, at the end of the movie, you'd lift up all the shells and show us where the ball is. As it is, all the shells were swept off the table and the movie maker expects members of the audience to sit back and say, "Ahhhh.... Ohhhhh.... THAT'S WHAT THEY WERE UP TO!", but no, there's no bolt of lightning, no revealing sequence, you're forced to guess at the end. Who's telling the truth? Who's lying? What was the point? There are so many little, meaningless clues along the way, that I have the distinct impression that the writer out-clevered himself and just didn't know what to put into the final scene.

If someone can e-mail me and explain what the hell the final sequence was supposed to mean, I would be eternally grateful.

    Travis Cottreau

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