Studio: Universal Pictures
Release Date: 4/18/2023
Rating: R
Film Grade: C+
The Story: It’s the late 1930s, and a mysterious dame shows up at the door of private detective Philp Marlowe, asking for his help to find a missing man. Marlowe agrees to take the case and soon finds himself wrapped up in a plot that is much bigger than it seems. . .
My Take: This film escaped the attention of many. With an Oscar-winning director like Neil Jordan and stars like Liam Neeson, Diane Kruger, and Jessica Lange you would have expected it to have some kind of profile, yet I don’t recall any advertising or word of mouth for it all.
As a period piece, the look of the movie is both beautiful, rich, and authentic. It’s also not a movie that ignores the time period, but rather embraces it. Some may find this offensive these days, since the characters do use language appropriate to the day, rather than clean it up for modern audiences, but it’s not done for shock value or for denigrating people, but rather to portray that time.
Neeson plays Marlowe near the end of his career. He’s an aging detective that can still defend himself if needed, but knows his capabilities. You won’t see any Taken-type action in this movie. Working with the police (unofficially), and against the seedy elements of Los Angeles, Marlowe eeks out a living with these cases that hang between the two extremes.
In a case of great casting, Lange and Kruger play mother and daughter, each with their own motives. There are plenty of other characters feature, some with Hollywood connections, others that live outside of the law. Performances are appropriate for the time period the movie is set in, and with an exception or two, are played straight.
The story itself is filled with enough twists and turns that it’s likely to give the audience a case of whiplash. While one can appreciate a non-predictable plot, this changes course so fast that it’s hard to remain involved. At the same time, pacing is on the slow side, so there are long periods of dialog that aren’t overly-interesting, followed up by short flurries of action or sudden revelations. The result is a movie that’s hard to become fully absorbed in. Rather, one is often left waiting for another part of the plot to be explained to us.
By the time the movie ends, one is left with the strong flavors of the period, but a story that is almost immediately forgettable.
Video: This is a beautifully-shot movie, and is well-represented on disc. There are plenty of dark, shadowy scenes that create the proper mood, daylight scenes of Los Angeles (actually filmed in Spain), and rich interiors that reflect each environment. The movie blends a variety of color palettes to great effect bringing the right mood to the various scenes.
Audio: The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 is a disappointment. While the jazz-inspired musical score is interesting and fun, the same can’t be said for the dialog. About 20 minutes into the movie, I asked my wife if she was having a hard time with some of the dialog, and she confirmed that it wasn’t just me. That doesn’t help a movie that features such a convoluted plot.
There are some odd uses of sound in the environment as well. Early in the movie there’s an outdoor scene between Marlowe and a policeman. They’re speaking in a normal tone, in an open space, and yet there’s an obvious echo added to the cop’s voice. Not only does it hurt intelligibility, it also pulled me out of the movie trying to figure out why there’s an echo. I thought it might be an artifact of my HTP-1’s upmixer, so tested it again after watching the movie while in native mode. Nope, same echo.
Special Features: This movie cries out for some supplementary material on the filming process, history of the character in books and cinema, what attracted the director or actors to the project, but there wasn’t anything to be found.
Final Verdict: We finally get a movie with a great cast, directed by a solid director, built around a mostly-forgotten genre. Unfortunately, the story is immediately forgettable.
Fans of the genre may find it more involving, and it is great to look at, transporting the viewer back to a different time. If you fall into that category, consider the grade a level higher.
Worthy of a rental if you’re expecting something different, but not spectacular, I would have liked to add it to my library collection, but it ends up being a pass for me.
Fun Fact: This is Liam Neeson’s 100th film!
My Review System:JVC DLA-RS3100 4K Ultra High-Definition Front Projector
Elite Screens Sable Frame B2 117” Width with Infinitely Variable Height
Monolith by Monoprice HTP-1 16 Channel Processor with Dirac Live
Monolith by Monoprice 7x200 Watts Amp
Monolith by Monoprice 3x200 Watts + 6x100 Watts Amp
JBL Studio 590 for Left, Center, Right, Wides, and Rears
JBL Studio 580 for Side Surrounds
JBL Studio SCS 8 for Tops
JTR Captivator 1400 Subwoofer X 4
Panasonic DP-UB420 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Player
NVIDIA Shield Android TV - 4K
HTPC Running madVR (work in progress)
Remote: URC MX-780
Mini DSP 2X4 HD controlling all subwoofers
APC S15 Power Conditioner with Battery Backup
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