Solace is a film with a troubled history. Originally intended to be a sequel to the great Seven (and to be called Eight), that idea was vetoed by David Fincher. Then attached to a number of stars and directors, it was eventually made by Alfonso Poyart back in 2013. Financial issues with the film production company resulted it being left on the shelf for a couple of years.
This story of a psychic helping the FBI track down a serial killer was never going to be as good as Seven, a film that set the benchmark for movies of this type in recent years. Despite some fine elements, it is also not as good as the best of the rest since then, Copycat (1995) and Untraceable (2008).
Poyart’s direction is too fussy, feeling more like a music video than a movie at times. Colin Farrell’s portrayal of the killer (that’s not a spoiler as it’s in the trailer) is unconvincing, lacking any depth, and the easy acceptance of the psychic (Anthony Hopkins) in the investigation seems a little far-fetched.
On the plus side, there are a couple of decent plot twists and Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Abbie Cornish breathe life into fairly clichéd roles as FBI agents. Morgan’s world-weariness and Cornish’s feistiness flesh out the characters nicely.
Rating: 6 out of 10