Plot Details: This opinion reveals minor details about the movie's plot.

In The Flock, Richard Gere plays Erroll Babbage, a man obsessed.  Obsessed with the job that has become his life's calling.  Obsessed with finding answers when everyone else has given up.  And obsessed with trying to prevent a single new victim from suffering the fates of previous victims. 

Babbage is in charge of making sure the registered sex offenders in his territory (his "flock") are where they are supposed to be, and doing what they're supposed to be doing.  Babbage takes this responsibility to an extreme level, going far beyond the standard protocol, and doing whatever he feels needs to be done, to make sure these "animals" (his word, not mine) stay on the right side of the line.

His obsession makes him the department's pariah, and the others are happy that he's only got a couple weeks left, before he'll be forced into retirement.  For his part, he doesn't want to leave, but he wasn't given a choice.  Nor was he given a choice about his rookie replacement, Allison (Claire Danes).  Now Babbage has only a couple weeks to train her, transfer all of his knowledge to her, and solve a few outstanding mysteries that have been bugging him.

When another girl goes missing, Babbage is certain it has to be the work of one of his flock.  But which one?  With no help whatsoever from the rest of his department, or from his boss, Babbage sets out to figure out which of his charges has gone too far.  And Allison is dragged along for the ride.

For the rest of the movie, we watch as Babbage follows one clue after another, trying to put the pieces together, and find the girl.  Allison is dragged along, at times believing in Babbage's fight.  Other times she's convinced he's as crazy as the rest of the department says he is. 

What I really didn't like was that no one else seemed to care one single bit that this girl was missing.  We never see anyone - not the local police, not the FBI - actually trying to find her.  Babbage is the only person doing anything useful.  And he's getting flack for it - being told it's not his job to investigate cases.  True.  But it's a good thing he's doing it, or that poor girl wouldn't have a chance!

On the other hand, Babbage doesn't do himself any favors, by going so far over the line, in the course of his job.  He claims he can tell when someone is planning to do something wrong, and he's not above a little pre-emptive "warning".  They show Babbage in such a mean, crazy, out-of-control light, that it's impossible to like him, or to feel any kind of sympathy for him.  I think the movie would have played better if we liked him, at least a little bit. 

I felt really bad for Allison.  She was put in a difficult position. She's new to the job, and told to partner with Babbage for his last few weeks, but also warned that he's a nutcase, and not to go along with any of his antics.  That would be an impossible situation for anyone to be in.  No wonder she flip-flops between wanting to work alongside Babbage, and wanting to be as far away from him as possible.  I think Danes did an admirable job showing us this conflict.

This movie does not hold back, when it comes to showing some of the seedier sides of sexual deviants.  We are brought to a weird house that's more like a sexual circus than anything.  Behind each curtain is another weird activity taking place.  And, when we finally see the missing girl, it's difficult to watch what she has to endure.  These scenes are definitely not for everyone.

Special mention has to go to KaDee Strickland, who plays Viola.  She's the ex-wife of one of the men in Babbage's flock, and she also has a secret or two of her own.  I think Strickland did a remarkable job in this role.

This is OK movie.  There are decent performances, but the script isn't the best.  See it if you're channel-surfing and come upon it.  But don't rush out to purchase it.

Recommended: No

Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age