Copycat

UK Release Date. 26 April 1996
Certification. 18
Running Time. 2 hours 3 mins
Director. John Amiel
Cast. Harry Connick Jr., Holly Hunter, William McNamara, Dermot Mulroney, Will Patton, Sigourney Weaver.
Rating. 67%

Review.

The 1990s seemed to be awash with psychological crime thrillers, including some of the best examples of the genre - the likes of Jacob’s Ladder, Misery, The Silence Of The Lambs, Se7en, The Usual Suspects, Dolores Claiborne, The Game, Fargo, Open Your Eyes, Stir Of Echoes and The Sixth Sense immediately spring to mind. I suspect few would place John Amiel's Copycat in the same lexicon, despite the fact that Sigourney Weaver cites the film as one of the best performances of her long and illustriuos career.

Weaver plays Dr Helen Hudson, an agoraphobic forensic psychologist who reluctantly agrees to help the lead detective, M.J. Monahan (Holly Hunter), track down a killer murdering people in the style of other infamous serial killers - Albert DeSalvo, Kenneth Bianchi and Angelo Buono, David Berkowitz, Jeffrey Dahmer and Ted Bundy.

In a genre that was, at that time, dominated by male characters, Copycat is striking in that the film is anchored by two female leads. This proves to be the film's greatest strength - the performances of the principal players. Weaver brings her natural authority to the role, depicting a character defined by vulnerability and resilience in equal measure. Hunter is excellent as the tough, tenacious and smart-mouthed Detective M.J. Monahan [a role that was undoubtedly originally written as a male character].

Copycat opens with a striking pre-title sequence revolving around Helen’s terrifying encounter with a seriously deranged fan, Daryl Lee Cullum (Harry Connick Jr). With this sequence, Amiel establishes tension from the off, but the pace slows in the middle section. When the film begins to focus on the fundamentals of the police investigation, Amiel simply isn’t able to sustain the established levels of tension and suspense. 

Connick Jr's Daryl Lee Cullum maintains an ominous presence that lingers throughout the film and overshadows that of the main Copycat Killer himself. Unfortunately, the character of the Copycat Killer is somewhat underwritten, with little character development and no real reason given as to why he’s carrying out these heinous crimes.

Copycat may not be as accomplished as the likes of The Silence Of The Lambs, Fargo or Se7en, but the film is a superior thriller nonetheless, with the palpable chemistry between Weaver and Hunter certainly setting the film apart from many of its contemporaries.