MovieChat Forums > Copycat (1995) Discussion > Underrated

Underrated

posted 12 years ago by paramitch
16 replies | jump to latest

I think this is an underappreciated movie that is a superb character study. They were so complex and beautifully played -- several genuinely interesting characters who surprised me several times during the film because they didn't react according to cliches or tropes.

I loved Sigourney Weaver and her palpable fear and panic as Helen, and her situation was so logical and believable. I found it poignant that she had been so good at her job that she couldn't escape the horror of real danger of it, and eventually trapped herself, too aware of the danger of the outside world and of the unhinged minds she now understood too well to forget. I also liked that Weaver played her to the hilt with potentially unattractive or unlikeable traits -- the neediness, sarcasm, pills and drinking. It made her believable and real.

I also really loved Holly Hunter and Dermot Mulroney here -- Hunter's character MJ is so strong, focused and good at what she does. She's not super-emotional or comforting and at first has very little sympathy for poor Helen at all. And I got a kick out of the scene when she's kind of playing up the little-girl-charm angle and Helen asks Reuben if this usually works on people -- MJ is anything but little-girlish when she's being herself, and Helen gets that immediately.

MJ is actually kind of what the male cop would normally be in typical films, but what's great is that she's the strong one, while still being feminine. Meanwhile, it's Mulroney's character who is much more empathetic and understanding, and who has a sweetness to him in his connection with Helen.

The killer was actually the least interesting character to me.

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"I keep thinking I'm a grownup, but I'm not."

[–] larpine 12 years ago

I agree with everything there except the underrated part. Hunter was a double Oscar nominee in 1994, winning best actress and this film was her follow up.

The film did quite well, especially in VHS sales and rentals and despite the dated technology dialogue and DOS prompts, the film still holds up fairly well.

[–] gregforttmags 11 years ago

I found it to be roughly as good as The Silence of the Lambs and Se7en (and it's underrated in that it never had the same impact on popular culture as the former two movies), with a similar look/feel to 1986's Manhunter (less gothic than Silence or Se7en, with a more colder neon and technological atmosphere instead).

[–] paramitch 10 years ago

Thanks for the response -- great point, and I totally agree. I'm a huge fan of what Mann did with Manhunter and love the comparison. I agree that Copycat has a similar combination of style and believable characters. Best of all, we get to see some amazing actresses bring them to life on the girlpower front.

Meanwhile, you got me thinking about characters and I think Will Graham would have really liked Holly Hunter's MJ, although he would have understood Weaver's character 1000% (perhaps almost too much to like her).

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I keep thinking I'm a grownup, but I'm not.

[–] gregforttmags 10 years ago

I think Holly Hunter stole the movie from then A-lister Sigourney Weaver and I also found Dermot Mulroney pretty good as well as a relative rookie cop (who's senseless, random murder - partially because of Hunter's miscalculation - created a real sense of sadness and loss).

[–] paramitch 10 years ago

I completely agree. I also think Dermot Mulroney was superb, and I think he had just as tough a role here (in very different ways from Hunter and Weaver).

I love the way he was able to show us his palpable connection to both women -- in just one scene with Weaver, we see that she is someone he could love.

And when his character died, I felt a real sense of the sadness and loss you mention. I thought he was terrific here, and that his random murder figured in beautifully to the overall story about the importance of a single life, as well as serving as the main thing that binds Weaver and Hunter's characters together as they go after the main bad guy.

Such a great movie.

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I keep thinking I'm a grownup, but I'm not.

[–] gregforttmags 10 years ago

I thought he was terrific here, and that his random murder figured in beautifully to the overall story about the importance of a single life, as well as serving as the main thing that binds Weaver and Hunter's characters together as they go after the main bad guy.

It's been 18 months or more since I've last seen it properly, although a quiet calm before the storm scene - before the killer ploughs through yet more supporting cast and extras - the scene where a silently grieving MJ Monahan in the doorway informs Helen of Reuben's untimely end stuck in the mind so much and was so thoroughly heart breaking (especially when Helen took a shine to Reuben and Reuben possibly truly loved MJ Monahan).

Se7en was very successful because of similar emotional weight and tragedy inflicted on the central characters. It was executed in a more grisly and shocking way with the wife's head in a cardboard box.

[–] paramitch 10 years ago

I agree on both counts.

First, the moment when MJ is in the hallway, starts to speak, then says, "Reuben's dead," just kills me. The moment is just beautifully written, and beautifully acted by Hunter. I equally love Helen's response, which is so supportive and loving -- bringing her instantly in for support. It's such a great note to who Helen really is (versus her brittle exterior in her first scene with MJ, for instance).

I loved Se7en and think it's a masterpiece along similar lines. The ending kills me so much I can't watch it too many times. Every 3-4 years maybe. But beautiful writing and acting across the board. And kudos to GP, who plays a character there who is so warm and loving that she affects every moment of the film after we meet her (and I especially love her relationship with Freeman's character).

With Se7en, to this day I keep hoping for a different outcome with the box. Sniffle.

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I keep thinking I'm a grownup, but I'm not.

[–] gregforttmags 10 years ago

First, the moment when MJ is in the hallway, starts to speak, then says, "Reuben's dead," just kills me. The moment is just beautifully written, and beautifully acted by Hunter.

Yes, when she blurts out what happened to Reuben, you could sense Hunter's character being on the brink of bursting into floods of tears, making you want to wrap your arms around her and cry as well.

Se7en: Yeah, Gwyneth Paltrow infusing such life and likability into a character who's savage murder was very sad like Mulroney's character dying was no mean feat, especially when Paltrow is allegedly an awkward, irritating Prima Dona Beyoutch in real life.

[–] paramitch 10 years ago

I totally agree -- it was beautifully played by both.

I keep hearing that Gwyneth isn't a warm person in real life, but she definitely is able to bring that quality to certain characters very effectively. I thought she did so beautifully (and best) in "Se7en" and also in the "Iron Man" movies as well.

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I keep thinking I'm a grownup, but I'm not.

[–] gregforttmags 10 years ago

Sometimes the girl or boy doesn't get to ride off into the sunset with their partner. The Marvel movies are starting to get hamstrung by chickening out of killing off permanently main characters (though Coulson's miraculous resurrection adds a layer of sinister mystery and ongoing danger to his spin off show).

Sad deaths of characters you care about is also what makes shows like Breaking Bad get held in high esteem.

[–] paramitch 8 years ago

Agreed. And the tragedy is what makes me remember them. Life is not always happy. Movies are not always happy. But they give us moments like these, in which characters can be remembered forever, and that's such a lovely thing.

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I keep thinking I'm a grownup, but I'm not.

[–] paramitch 11 years ago

Just in case it helps, I'm very well aware that Hunter is an Oscar winner and nominee, I just felt that in this particular role, she was perhaps underrated, with critics who seemed to assume she was just playing "cop" and without giving the role its proper due.

To me, however, it remains one of her best onscreen performances.

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I keep thinking I'm a grownup, but I'm not.

[–] horrorules 11 years ago

totally agree, this movie rocks

ehy H2 haters, look this
http://i486.photobucket.com/albums/rr226/zombiezombie/suck.jpg

[–] IrinaOma 10 years ago

Criminally underrated & overlooked! This is my favorite thriller

[–] paramitch 10 years ago

It's a great movie, and I love the characters in it. They feel like real people to me. I will always love all three leads and their characters here.

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I keep thinking I'm a grownup, but I'm not.

[–] Mehrdad1 10 years ago

I completely agree, that this movie is underrated. I was one of the only people in my group of friends to see it in the theater. I even remember not liking Seven as much, because I thought Copycat covered similar ground better.