Saw Review
by Bob Bloom (bob AT bloomink DOT com)November 1st, 2004
SAW (2004) 2 1/2 stars out of 4. Starring Cary Elwes, Leigh Whannell, Danny Glover,
Monica Potter, McKenzie Vega, Shawnee Smith, Ken Leung, Dina Meyer, Mike Butters,
Paul Gutrecht and Michael Emerson. Story by James Wan and Leigh Whannell. Written
by Leigh Whannell. Directed by James Wan. Rated R. Running time: Approx. 100 mins.
Saw repels you while also putting a choke hold on you, not allowing you even a
fraction of a second to turn away from the screen.
This suspense thriller is part Se7en, part Silence of the Lambs and part Marquis de
Sade.
Opening with a young man regaining consciousness in a filled bath tub, the movie
reeks with a sense of paranoia and dread.
The main focus of the story deals with two men chained on opposite walls in a filthy,
dilapidated room filled with pipes, a tub, bathroom and mirror. In the middle of the
room is a body, a gun in its hand.
The men, Dr. Lawrence Gordon (Cary Elwes) and Adam (Leigh Whannell, who also wrote the screenplay) both find small microtapes in their pockets, which, when played, begin a game of cat-and-mouse that could lead to their freedom — or their
deaths.
A secondary story revolves around the hunt by a police detective named Tapp (Danny Glover), for a serial killer called Jigsaw.
The two plots eventually intersect with surprising results.
Saw is sick and sadistic, yet Whannell's screenplay and the direction by James Wan
suck you in.
The two have the viewers chasing their tails as they try to guess the identity of
Jigsaw. Through manipulative camera shots and subtle hints and clues they keep pointing fingers, having you believe for a few moments that this person or that is the
deranged puppetmaster.
Whannell and Wan play fair, even though throughout the 100-minute running time,
they cast suspicion on everyone except Gordon's young daughter.
The performances are uneven, with Glover's being the most over-the-top and showy. Elwes, looking sickly and bloated chews a bit of the scenery, while Whannell's
character actually
improves and grows as the movie progresses.
Saw offers some very powerful and disturbing images, but they are
instantaneous
jolts, not lingering shocks.
The logic is murky and the time frame is confusing as the movie stretches credability
to the breaking point and beyond, yet somehow manages to snap back and make everything seem credible.
The two talents behind the movie are names to watch.
While a tad derivative, Saw shows promise of better things to come from Whannell's
imagination and Wan's composition.
Bob Bloom is the film critic at the Journal and Courier in Lafayette, Ind. He can be
reached by e-mail at bbloom@journalandcourier.com or at bob@bloomink.com. Bloom's reviews also can be found at the Journal and Courier Web site: www.jconline.com
Other reviews by Bloom can be found at the Rottentomatoes Web site: www.rottentomatoes.com or at the Internet Movie Database Web site:
www.imdb.com/M/reviews_by?Bob+Bloom
Originally posted in the rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup. Copyright belongs to original author unless otherwise stated. We take no responsibilities nor do we endorse the contents of this review.
