NOW ON PRIME VIDEO! Everyone finds their own way to deal with their mid-life crisis, with some people buying sports cars and others completely rethinking their professional lives. In writer-directory Andrew Dean’s Chameleon, Knoll Ashby (Henry Held), a detail-oriented real estate agent with a successful professional life, finds himself obsessed with the idea of spicing up a life that has become quite monotonous, and decides to kill for the first time. He Giving in to his inner voice, Knoll soon finds himself extending to much more than a single murder.
When it comes to sociopath characters living in a gray, sad world plagued by violent people, Dean finds his inspiration in knocking on the door of the director who has made it his trademark, David Fincher. The major influence of Fincher on Dean’s approach to film-making is clearly evident in Chameleon. From the cold, green, and grayish-blue palette of each sequence to the millimeter-perfect camera tracking of the character’s movements in the frame, you can see everything that is Fincher in this film.
But at the same time, Andrew Dean’s screenplay is perfectly suited to this method of film-making, with its detail-oriented protagonist characterized by a methodical attitude very similar to that recently displayed by Michael Fassbender in The Killer. Like that character, Knoll reassures and calms himself with a phrase he repeats to himself: “Alaska, Nebraska, Maine, Wyoming”, while Fassbender repeats, “Don’t improvise.”
“…becomes obsessed with the idea of spicing up a monotonous life and decides to kill …”
But where Chameleon really shines is in its narrative structure. Whereas the first half shows Knoll gradually sinking into an adrenaline addiction, satisfied only by killing, Dean chooses to reverse the perspective by placing the second half of his film under the gaze of Detective Dietz (Steven Garland), desperately trying to solve the murder case. This intelligent change regenerates our interest in the plot and removes the burden on the filmmaker of relying on a character for whom we no longer have any empathy. At the same time, the film shifts into a dynamic closer to Zodiac or True Detective, with its obsessive quest for answers.
Nevertheless, although the film is supported by a solid cast with performances largely up to scratch, there’s a regrettable lack of ambivalence in Henry Hold’s portrayal of Knoll. Hold leans heavily on the sociopathic side of his character (and rightly so), leaving little room for other sides of his personality, resulting in a sometimes monotonous performance.
Nevertheless, Andrew Dean strikes a good balance with Chameleon, successfully bringing a 132-minute script to the screen, and above all, a fine execution in the direction. The filmmaker also adds many important elements to the film’s soundtrack, which, again like The Killer, goes hand in hand with the main character and his need for adrenaline. At the same time, he introduces a strange, heavy electronic soundtrack in many scenes to build effective tension.
In the end, Dean manages to stage a beautiful dance between his two main actors, circling each other in a chess game where each day spent adds more bodies to the counter. While taking Fincher’s signature style for his film is a fine idea on the filmmaker’s part and allows the film to work, it must be admitted that it also slows it down a little, sometimes to its detriment. Nonetheless, Chameleon remains a highly masterful work in both script and direction. A nice surprise.
"…a highly masterful work in both script and direction."
