STRICTLY OBSERVING: Two-Lane road

I recently went to the Marquee Cinemas with some friends to see the new thriller, “Untraceable,” starring Diane Lane.  Lane has been a favorite actress of mine ever since I saw her in her Oscar nominated role as Connie Sumner in the 2002 thriller, “Unfaithful.” From that day forward, I have tried to catch every film in which Lane stars.  Her most recent one was no exception.
Having debuted in theaters across America on Jan. 25, “Untraceable” features Lane as an FBI agent named Jennifer Marsh, a mastermind crime solver specializing in exposing the wrongdoers of cyberspace.  While spending their typical day at the office searching for online predators, she and partner, Griffin Dowd (portrayed by Colin Hanks), run across a Web site that features live torture killings.  These murders are executed faster according to the number of viewers that log on to watch them.
The perpetrator is Owen Reilly (Joseph Cross), a 20-year-old man who is angry at the world because his father’s suicide was broadcast live on television news the previous year and had since attracted millions of online viewers.  In order to express his vengeance, Reilly created the Web site in an attempt even the score with the media by killing people connected with his father’s suicide coverage.  His technological skills are so advanced that the site cannot be shut down, not even by the FBI.  Thus, it is deemed untraceable.
Therefore, the job of tracking down Reilly and bringing him to justice falls solely to Marsh, who must do so through other venues than the Web.  Although she tries to remain a hard-nosed detective who is completely devoted to her job of cracking the cases of Internet criminals, Lane does an excellent job of exhibiting the human side of Marsh.  This is particularly clear when Reilly discovers that she is on to him and sets out to endanger her and those she loves.  Evidence of this is further showcased when the audience learns that Lane’s character is a widowed mother of a young daughter.
While this is a bone-chilling thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat throughout, the gruesomeness of the violent killings are not for those who are either faint of heart or possess a weak stomach.  I found myself gazing at my shoes during those scenes.  Another surprise, in my opinion, was seeing Joseph Cross portray a heartless, cold-blooded serial killer.  Every one of Cross’s role that I can recall over the years involve him playing the hero or at least the likeable “good guy” sort of character.  In “Untraceable,” however, Cross is more than believable in this completely contrasting role.  Just to glance at his creepy onscreen persona in this film was enough to make my skin crawl.
Another interesting element of “Untraceable” was the informative nature of the FBI agent characters and the vast knowledge they seemed to possess in their fields of work.  It made you feel as though you were attempting to solve the crimes right there with them in the FBI lab.  However, as impressive as this is to the viewer, it is also equally as disturbing.  I fear that the film’s attempt to condemn today’s mass interest in Internet “torture porn,” as it is called, will only increase fascination among those as sick and twisted as the “Untraceable” antagonist.
As impartial as my opinion may be due to my adoration for her, I must applaud Lane for another job well done.  It was her performance that held the film together and while she won’t get it this time around, I would love to see her win an Oscar.  Also, if by some unforeseen miracle she ever found herself interested a younger, physically challenged man, I may know of a possible candidate.
A graduate of Wytheville Community College, Zach Cooley lives in Wytheville with his parents. Contact him at .