To Catch a Killer (2023 film)

To Catch a Killer
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Damián Szifron
Written by	Damián Szifron Jonathan Wakeham
Produced by	Aaron Ryder Stuart Manashil Damián Szifron Shailene Woodley
Starring	Shailene Woodley Ben Mendelsohn Jovan Adepo Ralph Ineson
Cinematography	Javier Juliá
Edited by	Damián Szifron
Music by	Carter Burwell
Production companies	FilmNation Entertainment RainMaker Films
Distributed by	Vertical Entertainment
Release date	April 21, 2023 (2023-04-21)
Running time	119 minutes[1]
Country	United States
Language	English
Box office	$3.1 million

To Catch a Killer is a 2023 American crime thriller film directed by Damián Szifron and written by Szifron and Jonathan Wakeham. It stars Shailene Woodley, Ben Mendelsohn, Jovan Adepo and Ralph Ineson. In the film, a talented but troubled young Baltimore cop is recruited by the FBI to help profile and track down a murderer. The film marks Szifron's English-language debut.

Vertical Entertainment gave the film a limited theatrical release in the United States on April 21, 2023 where it received mixed to positive reviews.

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On New Year's Eve in Baltimore, a sniper begins killing random revelers. Beat cop Eleanor Falco is among those who respond. Police identify the shooter's location as an apartment, just before it explodes. SWAT clear the apartment, and determines that no one has died there.

At the police headquarters, the manhunt commences, led by FBI Special Agent Lammark. Lammark meets Eleanor in the break room, and is impressed by her perceptiveness. The next morning, Lammark meets with Eleanor for coffee, where he explains he wants her, along with fellow agent Jack McKenzie, to work directly with him as a liaison with the Baltimore police during the investigation. They both accept.

At the Bureau, McKenzie explains that the apartment was uninhabited and there is nothing to indicate any of the building staff or residents committed the crime. The explosion was caused by a grenade paired with a deliberate gas leak, and that the rifle used for the shooting is a US Army weapon, over 40 years old.

Lammark, Eleanor, and McKenzie travel to the morgue of the shooting victims where they are interrupted by news that Baltimore police believe they have the shooter surrounded, and hurry to the scene. Upon arriving, they are presented with very thin evidence that a troubled local youth perpetrated the crime. Tactical police enter the youth's apartment, and cause him to jump out the window, killing himself. Lammark and Eleanor are extremely frustrated.

Returning to the Bureau, Lammark, Eleanor, and McKenzie interview three painters who painted the empty apartment, years prior. Lammark reveals to Eleanor that he has learned that she once applied to join the FBI, but failed her psychological evaluation. Eleanor explains that in the past she suffered from various mental health issues and addictions, including self-harm, and joined the police as a means of taking her life back.

The next day, the killer commits a mass shooting at a mall. Through security cameras, the team observes the killer and sees him stash a shirt in a bathroom trash can, which is subsequently emptied by cleaning staff. While Lammark meets with the mayor, Eleanor and McKenzie retrieve the shirt at the landfill.

Under pressure from the Mayor's office, Lammark engages in a risky strategy of showing security footage from the mall on live television, and encouraging members of the public to call with information. Someone posing as the killer calls, and police trace the call, following the caller and three allies to a pharmacy. A shootout ensues, leading to the death of the caller's three allies. Interrogation reveals he's simply a prank caller. In the aftermath, Lammark is relieved of his post for his failure to apprehend the killer, and the associated collateral damage.

Eleanor goes home, contemplates self-harm, and comes to a realization about the story told by one of the painters. She confronts him, and he reveals that he had subcontracted a man fitting the description of the killer. Eleanor and Lammark travel to a slaughterhouse where the killer worked, where they learn the killer's name: Dean Possey, the son of a former shooting instructor for the US Rangers.

Eleanor and Lammark visit Mrs. Possey, his mother. She claims to have not seen him in years, but Dean is revealed to be hiding in the shed out back when he shoots and kills Lammark. Eleanor convinces Mrs. Possey to reason with Dean, but when he refuses to be reasoned with, Mrs. Possey kills herself. Dean enters the house and he and Eleanor discuss his misanthropy. He asks Eleanor to kill him in his sleep, but before she can, police arrive and he knocks her unconscious. He drags her into a secret tunnel below the shed.

Backup arrives, led by McKenzie. Dean kills multiple officers before blowing up the shed. Eleanor attempts plead with him, drawing him close enough for her to bite his neck, seriously wounding him. He escapes out the back. She subsequently escapes and rejoins McKenzie. The police track Dean and he commits suicide by cop.

Later, Eleanor interviews with the mayor and his associates. They buy her silence on the true circumstances of Dean's death in exchange for a position at the FBI and posthumous honors for Lammark.

• Shailene Woodley as Eleanor Falco
• Ben Mendelsohn as Geoffrey Lammark
• Jovan Adepo as Jack Mackenzie
• Ralph Ineson as Dean Possey
• Rosemary Dunsmore as Mrs. Possey

In May 2019, Shailene Woodley joined the cast of the film, then titled Misanthrope, with Damián Szifron directing from a screenplay he co-wrote with Jonathan Wakeham. Woodley also produced the film,^[2] which is Szifron's English-language debut.^[3] In October 2019, it was announced Mark Strong was in talks to join the cast.^[4] In December 2020, Ben Mendelsohn joined the cast.^[5] In January 2021, Jovan Adepo was cast.^[6] Ralph Ineson was revealed as part of the cast in March 2021.^[7]

In May 2019, it was reported that filming would take place in Atlanta that year.^[2] Filming took place instead in Montreal, Quebec, Canada from January 27 to March 10, 2021.^[8]

In November 2022, Vertical Entertainment acquired U.S. distribution rights to the film.^[3] It was retitled from Misanthrope to To Catch a Killer, and released in theaters on April 21, 2023.^[9]

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 52% of 82 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.7/10. The website's consensus reads: "Damián David Szifron's stylish direction and fine performances bolster To Catch a Killer's case, but a derivative script throws this thriller off course."^[10] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 43 out of 100, based on 11 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.^[11]

To Catch a Killer, with a limited theatrical release, grossed $3.1 million, in international territories.^[12]

• To Catch a Killer at IMDb