Diagnosis and behavioral analysis of Along came a spider

Along Came a Spider is a movie directed Lee Tamahori and featuring Morgan Freeman as the lead character. It was adapted from the book Along Came a Spider written by James Patterson in 1993. In this movie, Alex Cross (Morgan Freeman) is a detective who retired from the force after a tragic incident involving his partner and since then, has moved into writing mystery and thriller novels. He is forced to get on a case after the kidnapping of Megan Rose, the daughter of the U.S. Senator. He works along with Jezzie Flannigan (Monica Potter) in the case. The suspected kidnapper is the Computer Science teacher Gary Soneji (Micheal Wincott).

Cross understands that Soneji is fascinated with a kidnapping in 1932 and wants to become infamous by kidnapping the senator's daughter. This is part of his larger plan in which he wants to kidnap the son of the Russian President. Though this plot is foiled by Cross, Soneji demands a ransom of $10 million in diamonds for the return of Rose. Cross follows the directions for the drop-off and tosses a large bag of diamonds to a person standing outside a metro train. When Cross returns home, he finds Soneji and realizes that the ransom was not asked by him. Growing even more suspicious, Cross examines the hard drive of Soneji's computer and discovers evidence to connect Flannigan and another detective Devine to the ransom plot. He finds the place where Flannigan is currently hiding and before he could reach that farmhouse, Flannigan had killed Devine and is looking to kill Rose. In the encounter, Cross kills Flannigan and rescues Rose.

Behavioral Analysis

This movie is a mystery and psychological thriller that tries to bring together the complex thoughts and actions of different people. Soneji is an average middle-aged American who is looking to make a mark for himself in the world in whatever way possible. He has been abused by his father at a young age and he is suffering from an identity crisis. This forces him to think along the lines of kidnapping one of the most prominent students in the private school in which he is employed to garner public attention. The court finds him guilty of kidnapping and given his delicate mental state, he is sent to the mental institution.

Special Agent Jezzie Flannigan plays a key role in the movie. She is the disgraced officer who was held responsible for a security breach before she joined the case. As the case unraveled and Jezzie became more familiar with its circumstances, she decided to use it as a means to get out of the service for good. The embarrassment that she suffered as a result of the breach changed her attitude and she directed her frustration towards the case she is working on. It also shows the cunning and deceit side of Flannigan who works with Cross without ever giving the slightest hint of being involved on the other side of this conspiracy. She works with him as well as against him at the same time and this shows how a clever mind can be manipulated to come up with the most heinous of crimes. This character is a classic example of how one incident can change even the most righteous of officers in the wrong direction. Eventually, when she realizes that Cross has learned her secrets, she thinks that her only choice is to kill her partner in crime as well as the victim and get away as soon as she can. Unfortunately, she is caught before her plan materializes.