Solace (2015)
Certified: 15
Duration: 101 minutes
Directed by: Alfonso Poyart
Starring: Anthony Hopkins, Colin Farrell, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Abbie Cornish, Jordan Woods-Robinson, Kenny Johnson, Janine Turner, Sharon Lawrence, Jose Pablo Cantillo, Matt Gerald, Autumn Dial
KRS Releasing Ltd

Anthony Hopkins plays John Clancy, a clairvoyant who is brought in to help the FBI in a very delicate case. Agents Katherine Cowles (Abbie Cornish) and Joe Merriweather (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) are hunting down a serial killer who has been routinely outwitting the cops and, worse than that, making them look like fools. He leaves behind notes which proves he knows their every move, including the time they will arrive on the crime scene.

Clancy realises that, like him, the killer has the ability to see things but that his skills are better than his. It will thus be very difficult for them to catch Charles Ambrose (Colin Farrell). This pits them into a battle of seeing who is the better fox, as psychic has to outwit psychic. Meanwhile, the future of both Cowles and Merriweather seems shrouded.

The more the two psychics get to duel, the more the film picks up pace and interest. The audience is in for a trip to the dark side

This thriller can be described as an amalgamation of Seven with The Dead Zone complete with a trip to The Twilight Zone. The movie’s script is filled with lines that have all been heard before, yet Solace satisfies on different levels. It delivers an over-the-top plot which Brazilian director Alfonso Poyart milks to the maximum of its potential and beyond.

Hopkins delivers a smug acting performance, seemingly confident of what he is doing. He appears to recreate a Hannibal Lecter character and, in fact, the film reminded me of The Silence of the Lambs, especially as Cornish seems intent on walking in Jodie Foster’s same footsteps.

The film is also interesting when it veers into the murky psychic visions as it takes the audience into a different world with all its alternative grungy Goth styling.

Edited with a deft and sure hand, Solace delivers enough grisliness to keep its fan base clinging on. It steps outside its comfort zone and Poyart knows all the tricks of the trade. He keeps things moving briskly and knows how to give the film its shock tactics. The more the two psychics get to duel, the more the film picks up pace and interest. The audience is in for a trip to the dark side.