When the body of the pregnant girlfriend of the criminal Wesley Smith (Michael Liebman) is found electrocuted, detectives Eddie Argo (Stellan Skarsgård) and Helen Westcott (Melissa George) are assigned to investigate the case. They seek out Wesley with his gang of low-life criminals and Pierre (Tom Hardy), Jamal (Sean Brian Jordaan) and Daniel Leone (Ashley Walters) tell that they have not seen him. They move to a crack alley and the addicted whore Elly (Sally Hawkins) tells that Wesley is upstairs. They find Wesley tortured, with two fingers burnt and hanged with the equation W∆Z = Cov + E engraved on his flesh. Then they find Jamal and his twin brother Khaled killed in the same modus operandi and the coroner finds the dissociative anesthetic Ketamine in the autopsy. Helen finds that the only laboratory with the controlled substance available in the area is the one managed by the researcher Dr. Gelb (Paul Kaye). When they arrive, Dr. Gelb explains the meaning of the equation a.k.a. Price equation, which is a mathematical description of evolution and natural selection, i.e., there is no altruism in nature. Their further investigation discloses that Dr. Gelb's former assistant was Jean Lerner (Selma Blair), a young woman that was gang raped by Pierre and his gang and forced to kill her own mother. Due to contaminated evidences, the criminals have never been sentenced. Now she is forcing each rapist to kill the one he or she loves to save himself or herself from death, influenced by Dr. Gelb researches. Further, Helen suspects that her partner and detective Jack Corelli (John Sharian) intentionally destroyed the evidences.
"W∆Z" is a solid and dark police story and it is inevitable the comparison with the style and cinematography of "Se7en". The plot is very well resolved, supported by an excellent screenplay, great direction and stunning performances. The gruesome locations are depressive, using a dark cinematography, and the relationship between Eddie and Danny is a surprising twist. The characters are believable, with corrupt police and criminals living in the gray division between law and crime. This is the type of movie in which the killer has good motives for her actions. The plot is clever, raising questions about the existence and meaning of love and evolution of species. My vote is eight.
Title (Brazil): "W∆Z Matemática da Morte" ("W∆Z Mathematic of the Death")
"W∆Z" is a solid and dark police story and it is inevitable the comparison with the style and cinematography of "Se7en". The plot is very well resolved, supported by an excellent screenplay, great direction and stunning performances. The gruesome locations are depressive, using a dark cinematography, and the relationship between Eddie and Danny is a surprising twist. The characters are believable, with corrupt police and criminals living in the gray division between law and crime. This is the type of movie in which the killer has good motives for her actions. The plot is clever, raising questions about the existence and meaning of love and evolution of species. My vote is eight.
Title (Brazil): "W∆Z Matemática da Morte" ("W∆Z Mathematic of the Death")