If not for all those overblown blockbusters, 2007 may well have been known as the summer of beaten women, first with Captivity and now the schlocky thriller I Know Who Killed Me. What do they call a schlocky thriller with cheese in Paris, Vincent? In I Know Who Killed Me out of control party animal Lindsey Lohan plays straight-laced Aubrey Fleming, a smart young woman, one step graduated from Mean Girls, another film that showcased Lohan's acting ability. Say what you will about Lohan's personal life, she is clearly the most talented performer of her spoiled clique of friends. There are some awkward acting moments in the film in which Lindsey bites off more than she can chew, but for the most part Lohan honestly inhabits the role and enjoys bloodying up her clean celebrity image - that actually has been considerably tarnished within the last two years.
I Know Who Killed Me sees Aubrey Fleming abducted and tortured by a sadistic serial killer in some very disturbing scenes reminiscent of Captivity. In that film Elisha Cuthbert was similarly pummeled by an unknown figure all in the pseudo-name of misogyny, which actually turned out to be little more than desperate pandering and silly cliches. However, this time the creative team wisely deviates from the one-dimensional path of crime-horror genre and makes the story into an attempted-murder mystery, with some strange allusions to stigmata and - wouldn't you know - teenage creative writing. Lohan regains consciousness in the hospital and insists that she is not Aubrey Fleming but tough-as-nails stripper Dakota Moss, and that the real Aubrey Fleming is still in danger.
The plot twists of the film are very far-fetched, and at times the movie feels like a more hardened version of Perfect Stranger, another unfortunate vanity project-film that existed with little purpose except to show what great acting ability its star exhibited. (Which was close to none, actually) Worse yet, rather than focus on the intriguing mystery at hand, director Chris Siverston diverges into silly chase scenes and more gratuitous shots of Lohan screwing and bleeding. Is this a vanity project for Lohan and Siverston's own cinematic fantasy fulfilled? In his defense, it's possible that he sensed the performances of his FBI Agents (played by Spencer Garrett and Garcelle Beauvais) weren't going anywhere, and so he decided to make use of the one sure thing I Know Who Killed Me had going for it: Lindsey overacting! This is what the public loves to see, after all.
While the final plot twist of I Know Who Killed Me is absurd in its own merit, the film's conclusion is even more provocatively reckless. Fans and critics of the film are naturally divided on what "really" happened to Aubrey Fleming, with the former believing that there is much more to the story than meets the eye and that every minor character in the film was truly a suspect. The critics naturally disagree, believing the movie to be the bloody remains of a better murder mystery that was never quite made.
Both views hold water. The story, despite its laughably bizarre unfoldings, is not entirely unwatchable and may well be underestimated as far as the mystery goes. The film is comparable to this year's other high-concept mis-hit, The Invisible, though David S. Goyer's films boasted some much better performances as well as a whimsical, cluelessly offensive screenplay. However, it is also true that this high concept horror film was not effectively filmed or acted. The only thing more depressing than a beautiful young girl being repeatedly injured on screen is the discovery that the whole point of the film was lost. You blew it! No retakes, please. Let the poor girl rest now.
Source : http://www.miamipoetryreview.com/2007/08/iknow-who-killedme020807.html
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