To Catch a Killer is a 2023 crime thriller.
In Baltimore, Maryland, a Spree Killer with a sniper rifle murders 29 people on New Year's Eve. Eleanor (Shailene Woodley), a young but intelligent officer in the BPD, is recruited by Special Agent Lammark (Ben Mendelsohn) to join his FBI task force tracking down the killer.
Not related to the 1992 crime thriller about Serial Killer John Wayne Gacy.
This film provides examples of:
- Analogy Backfire: Mayor Capleton compares the New Year's Eve shooting to the Las Vegas shooting
as a reason why he expects the city to be up and running the next day. As Lammark points out, the shooter in that incident was killed in the attack, they are dealing with an unidentified, fugitive suspect who may strike again. - Defective Detective: Eleanor is a former drug addict prone to episodes of depression who was rejected by the FBI because she failed the psych tests. Part of the reason why Lammark recruits her is because she shares the nihilistic, antisocial views of the shooter.
- "Eureka!" Moment: Eleanor cracks the case, while sitting in a bathtub no less. One of the people they had interviewed earlier knows the killer, but was afraid to tell the police because of his own illegal hiring practices.
- Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas: Mrs. Possey has been sheltering her son Dean even after she found out that he is the New Year's Eve shooter. She shoots herself in front of him when he refuses to turn himself in. Although he tries to hold back his emotions, Dean makes it clear to Eleanor that the last of his humanity has just died. He asks her to shoot him after he falls asleep cradling his mother's body.
- Idiot Ball: Lammark grabs it in the third act after they have identified the shooter as Dean Possey, not sharing this information with the rest of the bureau and visiting his mother's house with only Eleanor as his back-up. He knows that this is the most likely hiding place for Dean, but Lammark is so determined to prove his bosses wrong for firing him that he throws all caution to the wind. Dean shoots him the moment he and Eleanor realize that Dean is hiding in the cabin next to the family home.
- Immoral Journalist: Special Agent Lammark is very dismissive of the news media as ratings-seeking scumbags whose speculation about the supposed psychology or motives of the killer is worse than useless, outright calling one particular news anchor a "parasite" for defaming a troubled teenager who was mistaken for the shooter. His superiors force him to work together with them anyway (dismissing his very pointed objections), giving the news media some of the security footage they acquired from the second shooting and creating a tip line to help them ID the suspect more quickly. It proves to be a massive waste of time and resources since it just gives airtime to whackjobs and creates a panic that leads to more violent incidents, while the FBI and police waste numerous man-hours chasing down unrelated suspects.
- Incompatible Orientation: After snapping at Eleanor to vent his own frustrations, Lammark invites her to dinner at his place. Eleanor assumes that her new boss is trying to get into her pants, but it turns out he's not only married, but is also a Straight Gay.
- Jurisdiction Friction: Played with. The FBI and BPD cooperate very well in the manhunt, but intra-agency friction between different FBI departments creates more than a few messes. Lammark in particular feuds a lot with his counterpart in the D.C. counterterrorism unit.
- Masculine–Feminine Gay Couple: Lammark and his husband Gavin. Lammark is an FBI investigator while Gavin appears to either work from home or as some kind of academic, having dinner ready for him when he arrives. Gavin also appears to be a lot sassier and more idealistic compared to Lammark's gruff, analytical character.
- Right-Wing Militia Fanatic:
- These end up causing a bunch of trouble after the corporate press get involved in ID-ing the suspect, as a group of neo-Nazis call into the show claiming responsibility for the attacks and use their airtime to spread outlandish claims of having a hidden army ready to strike against the government. It's really just a prank by a group of about five guys with no wider support base that ends with four of the men being killed in a pointless shoot-out with the police.
- Subverted with regards to the actual shooter. Lammark warns against assuming that the subject of their manhunt has a political agenda. Indeed, he turns out to be a solitary, broken man driven by personal tragedy and circumstance.
- Spree Killer: The killer begins the movie by killing 29 people in a sniper attack, using New Year’s fireworks as cover. The next day, he kills an unknown but much larger number of people at a shopping mall, then a couple days later kills Lammark and numerous police officers at his family home when they come to arrest him. Only the first attack was premeditated - the rest of the violence was spontaneous reaction to confrontation.
- Suit with Vested Interests: Baltimore mayor Jesse Capleton appears to be more concerned with the negative blowback on his administration that would result from imposing curfews or shutting down public places of gathering than in public safety. Lammark directly compares him to Mayor Vaughn from Jaws.Lammark: Jesse, have you ever seen Jaws? Right now you're the asshole trying to keep the beaches open!
