If you think Sandra Bullock’s been playing too many cutesy-pie movies, Murder by Numbers is a refreshing break from the genre in which she’s become pigeonholed.

Murder by Numbers is a cat-and-mouse, psychological thriller that weaves calculated madness, philosophical meanderings and a bit of human drama in one huge, 121-minute wallop. Bullock plays Cassie Mayweather, a fiercely commanding, prickly homicide detective who’s been assigned a new partner, Sam Kennedy (Ben Chaplin) because no one else wants to work with her. Cassie plays an emotional bully to the weak pushover Sam, and you can tell that she likes reeling men in, then kicking them out when they get too close.

Apparently, Cassie’s battling with her own demons from the past, which explains why she’s so cruel. Their latest case reawakens painful memories she’s been trying to hide, which the audience discovers in fragmented flashbacks.Cassie and Sam are pitted against two bright high school students deliberately playing with their heads.

Justin Pendleton (Michael Pitt) plays the quintessential brooding loner, his nose perpetually stuck in a book. His razor-sharp attention to detail and extensive knowledge of forensics tend to confuse the police investigation.

Justin’s kindred soul, Richard Haywood (Ryan Gosling) is the manipulative half. Slick, arrogant and popular, he epitomizes the kind of sleazebag that Cassie has learned to despise.

Justin’s philosophical treatise on crime, discussed in their class, sets the theme for Justin and Richard’s murder motto: freedom equals crime. They randomly single out a woman and then murder her by the number, just to see if they can get away with it. They plant misleading clues that point to the most likely suspect-a porn-hustling drug-dealing janitor at school, but Cassie thinks there’s more to it than meets the eye.

Barbet Schroeder, who directed the creepy Single White Female, does a good job in Murder by Numbers. Schroeder employs neat camera angles-from opening up a panoramic view of the ocean to zooming in on a minute piece of fiber from the victim’s pores.

Bullock plays the unpleasantly aggressive Cassie to perfection; Chaplin looks listless, awkward and boring. His weak, passive character only falls into a pathetic, forgettable mess.

On the other hand, Pitt and Gosling deliver brilliant, chilling performances as the diabolical duo. Their friendship exudes a kind of chemistry that borders on homosexuality and it’s intriguing. If there’s any reason for you to watch this movie, it is these two rising young actors.

Grade: B