The defence The Auteur Devotee
“Form is the argument.”
Every composed frame and deliberate cut is evidence that control can be thrilling in its own right.
Back to trending 
Deceiver
Mystery · Crime · Drama · 1997
The gruesome death of a prostitute brings suspicion on one of her clients, James Wayland, a brilliant, self-destructive and epileptic heir to a textile fortune. So detectives Braxton and Kennesaw take Wayland in for questioning, thinking they can break the man. But despite his troubles, Wayland is a master of manipulation, and during the interrogation, he begins to turn the tables on the investigators, forcing them to reveal their own sinister sides.
Movie details
Deceiver
“There are two sides to every lie.”
1997 Mystery · Crime · Drama 1h 46m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
6.0 / 10
Community rating
The gruesome death of a prostitute brings suspicion on one of her clients, James Wayland, a brilliant, self-destructive and epileptic heir to a textile fortune. So detectives Braxton and Kennesaw take Wayland in for questioning, thinking they can break the man. But despite his troubles, Wayland is a master of manipulation, and during the interrogation, he begins to turn the tables on the investigators, forcing them to reveal their own sinister sides.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over Deceiver?
For the defence
The Auteur Devotee
“You watch the director, not the movie.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Popcorn Loyalist
“Big screen, big feelings, no apologies.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
The Dead Girl
Mystery · 2006
The clues to a young woman's death come together as the lives of seemingly unrelated women begin to intersect.
Master Gardener
Drama · 2023
Narvel Roth is a meticulous horticulturist who is devoted to tending the grounds of a beautiful estate and pandering to his employer, the wealthy dowager Mrs. Haverhill. When she demands that he take on her wayward and troubled niece, it unlocks dark secrets from a buried violent past.
Mulholland Falls
Drama · 1996
In 1950s Los Angeles, a special crime squad of the LAPD investigates the murder of a young woman.
Stolen
Crime · 2009
A detective becomes obsessed with solving a child's 50-year-old murder, uncovering striking similarities between the case and his son's disappearance.
In the Electric Mist
Thriller · 2009
Lt. Dave Robicheaux, a detective in New Iberia, Louisiana, is trying to link the murder of a local hooker to New Orleans mobster Julie 'Baby Feet' Balboni, who is co-producer of a Civil War film. When the star of the film, Elrod Sykes, reports finding another corpse in the Atchafalaya Swamp near the movie set, Robicheaux starts another investigation, believing the corpse to be the remains of a black man whose murder he witnessed 35 years earlier.
Righteous Kill
Crime · 2008
Two veteran New York City detectives work to identify the possible connection between a recent murder and a case they believe they solved years ago; is there a serial killer on the loose, and did they perhaps put the wrong person behind bars?
A Walk Among the Tombstones
Crime · 2014
Private investigator Matthew Scudder is hired by a drug kingpin to find out who kidnapped and murdered his wife.
Suburbicon
Thriller · 2017
In the quiet family town of Suburbicon during the 1950s, the best and worst of humanity is hilariously reflected through the deeds of seemingly ordinary people. When a home invasion turns deadly, a picture-perfect family turns to blackmail, revenge and murder.
I Am All Girls
Drama · 2021
A special crimes investigator forms an unlikely bond with a serial killer to bring down a global child sex trafficking syndicate.
Farewell, My Lovely
Crime · 1975
Private eye Philip Marlowe is hired by ex-con Moose Malloy to find his girlfriend, a former lounge dancer. While also investigating the murder of a client and the theft of a jade necklace, Marlowe becomes entangled with seductress Helen Grayle and discovers a web of dark secrets that are better left hidden.
Where it lives
Watch in your region.
Cinema release signals and current streaming, rental, and purchase options for your region.
Streaming availability data supplied by JustWatch.
Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Jonas Pate · Josh Pate
Written by
Josh Pate · Jonas Pate
Tim Roth
James Walter Wayland
Michael Rooker
Detective Edward Kennesaw
Renée Zellweger
Elizabeth
Chris Penn
Detective Phillip Braxton
Rosanna Arquette
Mrs. Kennesaw
Karina Logue
Sorority Girl
Ellen Burstyn
Mook
Court is in session
Put Deceiver on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist
“Technique in search of a pulse.”
Immaculate construction is still construction. The film may be too busy proving its craft to feel alive.