One film genre I admire and love to watch or read about is mystery with a touch of psychological thriller and supernatural. When I first saw Mindcage (2022) on my streaming site, I assumed it was one of those copycat murder mysteries where the detectives would have to liaise with the original killer in prison to catch the copycat. Well, I was kind of right.
Murder mysteries have a lot of things in common and can make an audience bored if it's the same old story or plot. However, this director, Mauro Borrelli, towed a different direction which made this film gripping and a must watch.
Mindcage focuses on an incarcerated killer known as 'The Artist' and his copycat responsible for murders of women dressed, painted and posed like angels in death. Martin Lawrence (as Jake Doyle) played the part of the lead detective who arrested The Artist years back for a series of murders. He was called upon to work the case again but with another partner, Mary Kelly (played by Melissa Roxburgh).
What makes this film thrilling was that The Artist was happy for the attention because he was fascinated with Detective Mary Kelly. So they both spent time together rather than with Jake Doyle. This film focused on Mary Kelly, her connection with The Artist and the murders.
The Artist, being a brilliant psychopath, engaged Mary Kelly in a twisted, diabolical game where the copycat killer was always steps ahead. Every information he divulged to Mary was always spot on and led to dead ends and more murders, leaving the detectives confused. Who then is the copycat when the original killer is in prison?
Review
Mindcage reminds me of the psychological thriller Silence of the Lambs, the TV series Hannibal and the crime novel, Da Vinci Code. It's a film about serial killings of prostitutes, art and paintings with a special focus on religious arts and paintings, hence the name, 'The Artist'.
Though some red herrings made this film impressive, there were also plot holes that revealed its weakness. Such as: Could Mary Kelly's weird and religiously devout boyfriend be the copycat? Was it The Artist's mother who hated to see him paint that committed the serial murders? Why does a crazy homeless man follow Mary around? What does this homeless man have to do with the mysterious 'The Artist'?
The plot is brilliant but the setting and storytelling are good but not great, in my opinion. I felt some of the characters were not fully explored, most especially Jack Doyle played by Martin Lawrence.
The cast of the film is not a big one. I enjoyed Martin Lawrence's portrayal of a detective with a haunting history involving The Artist. We see it from the pills and coffee he takes. It was revealed he had therapy sessions after the arrest but we don't know the reason for this. Also, why does Jake keep a book on exorcisms in his car glove compartment? Why does he take Mary to see a priest who specialises in exorcisms?
I understand that Jack Doyle is at the centre of this intriguing film yet more action time should have been allotted to him. His character had a depth that was not pursued. Instead, we are left with flashback scenes of Jack Doyle in action until the ending where we truly see him. Still, I give the director and writer kudos for surprising me at the end. It was an unexpected one.
With Melissa Roxburgh, however, her dogged performance was great. I enjoyed how she portrayed Mary Kelly as a tough yet frail detective with secrets and a tortuous childhood. Viewers could easily be fooled by this demeanour until you watch her in action at the end of the film. Brilliant!
Some parts I did not like so much were the terrible lighting, poor production design, poor editing and cinematography. They were dull but the film's plot made up for these shortcomings.
In conclusion, Mindcage is a mystery worth watching. I give it 3.9 stars out of 5. Do you love psychological thrillers and murder mysteries? If yes, then you should watch this one.
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Other images are screenshots from the movie