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Count
Me Out: Don’t
invite me to see the movie “Murder by Numbers” this weekend. I love thrillers, yet I think this one will make me cringe in my seat for different reasons. Sure, Sandra Bullock is fun. I especially liked her in “Speed” and “While You Were Sleeping.” Even recent films like “Miss Congeniality” have been enjoyable. But this most recent film, I think I am going to pass. I may watch it sometime; maybe on video if it doesn’t become forgotten over time or lost on the shelves at Blockbuster, but this weekend, I’m going to have to pass. Maybe you would enjoy going see the movie this weekend. Let me tell you about it. “Murder by Numbers” is the story of two intelligent high school guys (Ryan Gosling and Michael Pitt). The two guys pretend that they hate each other at school, while they share a close bond when no one else is watching. They commit a horrible and senseless crime, apparently without much of a motive, just because they can. Yet, their plan is so precisely calculated it is difficult to pin them as the culprits. Unfortunately for them, detective Cassie Mayweather (Sandra Bullock) and new partner Sam Kennedy (Ben Chaplin) are on the case. It seems like a fairly common movie theme. Especially in the contemporary climate. But I can’t imagine sitting through the film without thinking about one of the most horrific times of my life, the shootings at Columbine High School. It was April 20, 1999. I was a senior at Arapahoe High School, in Littleton, Colo. My school is just more than five miles away from Columbine. I remember that day, and although some of the details are starting to fade, it’s still pretty clear. I remembered the sickening feeling in my stomach as well as the shock, horror, anger, confusion and the desire to cry hot, helpless tears. Saturday will be exactly three years since the roller coaster ride jolted to its frenzied start. Sure, the initial day was torturesome, but it didn’t end there. The next day my mind still raced like everyone else’s. I couldn’t uproot myself from the television screen. Nor did I stop watching the live coverage the rest of that week. The news stories didn’t end either. They still haven’t ended. More news came out this past Wednesday. This week’s news deals with SWAT team member Sgt. Dan O’Shea who was accused of killing 15-year-old Daniel Rohrbough. After a four month investigation, a new report shows that shooter Eric Harris killed Rohrbough, and that O’Shea had not yet arrived when the student died. Since the event occurred, experts and civilians have continued to probe issues of why Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris would have caused the worse school massacre ever. Everyone had a different theory. But no one really understood then. No one really understands now. This seems to be the major issue that “Murder by Numbers” explores. The film seems to probe why two high school boys would want to commit such a significant crime without definite, definable motivation. I’m curious about why Warner Bros. decided to release their film this weekend, the third anniversary of the shooting. Maybe I’m the only one making a connection, but the similarities seem close enough that I assume that I’m not the only person thinking this. I realize details of this film are substantially different. Yet, I’m not going to pay money to watch entertainment that exits the realm of entertainment and becomes something that, to me, is so real. I’m up for an adventure this weekend, but please, don’t invite me to go see “Murder by Numbers.” Ryan Eloe is a junior international economics major from Centennial, Colo. He can be contacted at (r.c.eloe@student.tcu.edu). |
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TCU Daily Skiff © 2002 |
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