Works as another uncompromisingly adult movie that assumes its audience is intelligent and doesn't have to cut narrative corners to make viewers feel safe.
Comment
04/19/02
Rate this Movie 
Murder by Numbers (2002)
30
%
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work
Reviews Counted:121
Fresh:36
Rotten:85
Average Rating:5.2/10
Consensus: A predictable police procedural that works better as a character study rather than a thriller.
Theatrical Release:Apr 19, 2002 Wide
Box Office: $31,874,869
Synopsis: When the dead body of a woman is found in the woods near the river, feisty homicide detective Cassie Mayweather (Sandra Bullock) and her new partner, Sam Kennedy (Ben Chaplin) are assigned to the... [More]
Starring: Sandra Bullock, Ryan Gosling, Michael Pitt, Ben Chaplin
Director: Barbet Schroeder
Get This Movie
Rent DVD
Click on the "ADD" button to put this movie into your Netflix queue.
Buy DVD
Reviews for Murder by Numbers
Murder by Numbers is half slick teen thriller and half boring, poorly acted police procedural. Stay away.
04/19/02
Doesn't add up to much.
04/19/02
Starts out dark, thrilling and inventive, then, regrettably, becomes sappy, mainstream and mundane.
04/19/02
This is Sandra Bullock at her teasing, wonder woman best.
04/19/02
Top CriticEven with Bullock working overtime to centre her performance and the film in reality, it's the exceptional, multi-layered performances of Gosling and Pitt that give the movie its tension and edge.
04/19/02
Murder By Numbers is like a couple of mediocre TV-movie -of-the-week films clumsily stuck together.
04/19/02
This should've been called Moviemaking by the Numbers. That would be a truthful description.
04/19/02
Murder by Numbers gives Sandra Bullock her best role in recent memory.
04/19/02
Top CriticFans of CSI and Patricia Cornwell novels are not likely to find Murder by Numbers any more convincing than the Simpson jury found blood tracings.
04/19/02
Top CriticIf the film does have a saving grace, it's the pairing of up-and-coming actors Gosling and Pitt, who make their scenes watchable to the point that you almost want their characters to get away with the crime.
04/19/02
Murder By Numbers plays like two separate movies awkwardly joined together.
04/19/02
Top CriticAside from the consistently creepy atmosphere that director Barbet Schroeder imparts to the picture, there's not much to like about Murder by Numbers.
04/19/02
At 118 minutes, the running time allows for too much dawdling and not enough legitimate tension.
04/19/02
As a hybrid teen thriller and murder mystery, Murder by Numbers fits the profile too closely.
04/19/02
Sandra Bullock, despite downplaying her good looks, carries a little too much ain't- she-cute baggage into her lead role as a troubled and determined homicide cop to quite pull off the heavy stuff.
04/19/02
For much of its length, the film is plausible, if predictable and ponderous. Its strongest assets are its actors.
04/19/02
Top CriticA slow-moving police-procedural thriller that takes its title all too literally.
04/19/02
It thinks it is original and incisive, when really it's the same old movie-of-the-week.
04/19/02
Click to read the article
04/19/02
Latest News for Murder by Numbers
April 14, 2005:
Actors Sign Up for a Taste of "Blood and Chocolate"
Annette Curtis Klause's "Blood and Chocolate" is being adapted for the big screen, courtesy of MGM/Sony. The Hollywood Reporter says its "about a teenage werewolf... More...
RT On Current TV
What’s Hot On RT
Fresh Links
Featured
MSN's Year in Review 
Take a look at MSN's choices for the Top 10 films of 2009.
Moviefone's Year End Movie Poll
What were your favorites? Least favorites? The funniest and scariest? Moviefone wants to know!
Tarantino's Characters
Hollywood.com explores why QT's characters resonate so well with audiences.
Top 10 Movies of 2009
TIME chimes in with their own list of the best films released this year.
Top 20 of the Decade
Click through to see which movies BuzzSugar placed in their Best-of-Decade list!
Promos
Follow RT on Twitter
Get the latest Tomatometer updates on upcoming movies!
IGN RSS Feeds