An Officer and a Murderer

Gary Cole's understated portrayal of a psychopathic alter-ego taking control of the daily ego is relentless, disturbing, and masterful. This (along with the fact that it's based on actual events) makes this movie worth viewing. Cole does not go all dramatic and tear up the scenery. In fact his *persona* (his personality mask) remains the same throughout his changes -- meticulous, thorough, rigid, controlling, polite. It's his soul that darkens and falls into this demonic abyss. Cole somehow communicates this transformation and makes us believe him (to our horror).

It should be noted that the the police characters are all fictional, and they even seem fictional in the way they are portrayed. But for those of us who wondered how a "Base Commander" on a Canadian Armed Forces base could possible lead such a double life and be one person, Cole makes us see -- not comprehend but accept.