Highlights
- The Bone Collector, a crime thriller from the '90s, borrowed from the horror genre and featured a devious serial killer and a brilliant quadriplegic forensic scientist.
- The chemistry between Angelina Jolie and Denzel Washington in the film was highly praised, with their performances elevating the movie above its plot and ending.
- At the time of The Bone Collector's release, Washington was already an established actor, while Jolie was still making a name for herself and would later become known as an action star.
Between John Grisham adaptations and cinematic classics, the 90s saw an over-saturation of crime thrillers. It's an exciting genre that gives actors a real opportunity to explore the depths of the human psyche. Crime Thrillers take on many different shapes, falling into the sub-category of something like psychological thrillers. Many of the more popular thrillers in the '90s heavily borrowed from the horror genre, making serial killers out like the lead from a slasher movie. The Bone Collector is no exception.
At the time, Se7en and Kiss the Girls were incredibly popular, so it was Denzel Washington's turn to find himself in an overly convoluted and violent plot that made the killer more monster than human. The Bone Collector was originally a novel written by Jeffrey Deaver with a lot of potential. Between its devious serial killer and brilliant quadriplegic forensic scientist, it had all the makings of a box office hit. It didn't matter how many crime thrillers were in the movie theaters at the time because that was one genre audiences returned for in droves.
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What is The Bone Collector About?
The Bone Collector follows Lincoln Rhyme, a bedridden forensics investigator who literally only has the use of one finger (or "one finger, two shoulders, and a brain," as he puts it) because of a freak accident that severed his spinal cord. As many might expect, this has given him a bit of a snarky attitude that everyone within his vicinity, which is a rather large apartment in SoHo, has to endure. Beside him at all times is his nurse Thelma, played by the illustrious Queen Latifah. That changes when fresh-out-of-the-acadaemy Amelia Donaghy discovers a severed finger near some train tracks.
This lands Donaghy in Rhyme's apartment, where he takes note of her instinctive forensic skills and decides she's going to be his eyes and ears on the case. Naturally, she's reluctant at first because she doesn't know the first thing about forensics and signed up to be a beat cop, but Lincoln has a certain charm to him that can win over anyone. Donaghy quickly finds herself strapped with more than a police-issued sidearm as she wears a camera and earpiece in order to show Lincoln the crime scenes she visits.
The movie becomes a race against the clock when the duo realizes they're dealing with a serial killer. His first victims were a married couple. The finger Donaghy discovered belonged to the husband and the wife was nearly rescued, but Donaghy arrived just in time to witness her burnt alive by a steam vent. The next victim was an NYU student eaten alive by rats followed by a grandfather and granddaughter pair. Eventually, Donaghy puts clues together to learn that the killer's last victim is Lincoln. The killer specifically created the entire string of victims for Lincoln as a sick test of wits.
Who do Angelina Jolie and Denzel Washington Play?
The best part of the entire movie was the chemistry between Angelina Jolie and Denzel Washington. Jolie brilliantly played the rookie Amelia Donaghy opposite Denzel's Lincoln Rhyme. Critics had a lot to say about the movie after its release, but the common thread in every critique was the quality of acting displayed by those two. Their roles subtly mirrored their real-life standing in Hollywood with Denzel as the seasoned veteran of the industry and Jolie still an up-and-coming star.
The Bone Collector was a testament to Denzel's acting chops as the film confined him to a bed the entire time. Not only did he have to remain as still as possible since his character was a quadriplegic, but so much of his acting came down to his facial expressions and tone of voice. Washington met with several quadriplegics in preparation for the role, including Christopher Reeve and a cop paralyzed on the job. It paid off since his and Jolie's performances were the highlight of the movie for critics, citing that the actors elevated the movie above its absurd plot and forgettable ending.
Did Angelina Jolie and Denzel Washington Star in any Other Movies Together?
At the time The Bone Collector hit theaters, Washington was already a household name around the world. He came off Philadelphia,Crimson Tide, and Courage Under Fire, three critically acclaimed movies. He most likely wasn't auditioning for roles at this point and could pick his next job. Not to mention, he gravitated toward movies and roles that captivated the audience with three-dimensional characters and deep-seated themes that explored the human condition. Movies such as Malcolm X and Training Day.
Jolie, on the other hand, was still making a name for herself and hadn't quite found her place in the cinematic world. She would eventually go on and cement her standing as an action star, taking roles in Lara Croft: Tomb Raider,Gone in Sixty Seconds, and Mr. and Mrs. Smith. She also explored a wide variety of roles that spanned across multiple genres such as science fiction and fantasy whereas Denzel typically hovered around stories grounded in reality. There was no overlap between their career paths that found them sharing the screen together again.