Directed By Neil Jordan

Starring – Liam Neeson, Diane Kruger, Jessica Lange

The Plot – a noir crime thriller set in late 1930’s Bay City, centers around a brooding, down on his luck detective; Philip Marlowe (Neeson), who is hired to find the ex-lover of a glamorous heiress (Kruger), daughter of a well-known movie star (Lange). The disappearance is the first twist in a series of bewildering events, and soon Marlowe is embroiled in a deadly investigation and web of lies that he’s determined to bring to light.

Rated R for adult language, violent content, some sexual material and brief drug use

MARLOWE | Official Trailer | Only In Theatres – February 15 – YouTube

POSITIVES

In being one of my favorite subgenres, it’s nice to see crime noir detective procedurals making a comeback, if even just for the elements of production that help to vividly convey the aesthetics of the golden age, with its art-deco domination of downtown Los Angeles. This affords the set decoration, cinematography, wardrobe and music composer a grave responsibility because they’re essentially delivering to us a transporting presentation that should look and feel like something uniquely vital, with a jazz-dominated score helmed by David Holmes, and golden tinted cinematography from Xavi Gimenez balancing a seamless execution from the very opening shot. From there, the rich combinations of tapestries involving wardrobe and decor channel dated consistencies that help to amply capitalize on the stylistic impulses of the era, however it’s the extensive nature of their capture that is most commendible here, stretching their way across establishing sequences as a means of refreshing audiences with a reflective glance at the past with the finest attention to detail, thanks to green-screen special effects of the most convincing variety. Beyond the bountiful production elements, the performances of a few are most evident, with Neeson, Kruger and Lange effortlessly immersing themselves to the familiarity of crime noir characters. Because of such, the film is at its best when the on-screen focus is paid between any two or three of them simultaneously, harvesting a complexity among dynamics that serves their evolutions well, while equally offering each of them ample opportunity to shine with their eclectic personalities. Lange is the show-stealer for me, inscribing an edginess to her typically twisted sense of humor that makes for a combustible element among characters with a tie to her, especially in the case of her on-screen daugher (Kruger), whom she winds up with gleeful eagerness.

NEGATIVES

Already in 2023, there have been films that are far worse than “Marlowe”, but none that are even remotely as boring. This mostly has to do with hinderances of an emotionally flat screenplay, with a complete absence of stakes or meaningful characterization to help combat the plodded pacing that makes 105 minutes pass with the kind of velocity of a sloth running the Boston marathon. The mystery itself isn’t even all that interesting, with a plot that feels virtually plucked from any of the thousand crime noir films before it, and a twist that Ray Charles could see coming while wearing a blindfold. At times, I forgot that there even was an on-going investigation to begin with because the storytelling completely stunts it in its tracks, keeping it grounded during key moments when the case should begin its final descent. In addition to this, there’s really nothing special about Marlowe that makes him the right man for the job. Essentially, he’s good because the mystery is so obvious, and because of such it requires Neeson to work overtime at even earning a decent performance, with the dialogue doing him little to no favors in that regard. This is the aspect of the film that is truly most offensive because the dialogue and interactions are every bit lazy as they are detrimental to the investment of its audience, delivering these metaphorically meandering lines that completely made me freeze in my tracks as a major distraction to anything that followed them. Examples involve Neeson saying “That’s fair” five straight times when asked a different question each time, or Neeson and Kruger discussing a suspect in the case, when Neeson tells her “The Cubans were chasing him, they wanted him dead”, and Kruger replying, “Why did they want him?” I can’t begin to speculate why the dialogue sound this…. stupid, but all I can suggest is that it plays towards the film’s tonal consistencies, which are often at war with each other. This means that the film can attempt to be overtly serious at times, while directly following it up with cheesy, cringey humor that completely eviscerates the sentiment. There’s plenty of examples of maturity mixed with silly humor in films, but here they both never work together, and instead directly contradict one over the other, forcing the film to feel a bit disjointed at times during an already dull and exhausting engagement. Finally, while much of the production values excel at painting a lushly luminous canvas to immerse us in the distinguishing elements of the age, the editing leaves a bit more to be desired in its abrupt execution. More often than not, the cutting is making up for an apparent weakness, such as Neeson moving at the speed of butter during sequences of physicality, but other times it cuts away from a scene involving vital interaction for no other reason than to progress along. This is that rare instance where a film’s pacing can somehow feel sluggish and speedy simultaneously, leaving us these alienating instances that never gel with them any kind of meaningful momentum to keep the attention of its audience firmly in the depths of its already plagued form of storytelling.

OVERALL
“Marlowe” is a forgettably bland and derivative exercise in the confines of crime noir futility. Though its visual flare is in the right place, emulating 1930’s Los Angeles seamlessly from a visual perspective, its mystery is cheaply formulaic, leaving its investigation free from the usual suspects of suspense, urgency or even circumstantial stakes that detective procedurals thrive on, with boredom serving as the only clue to where it all went wrong.

My Grade: 3/10 or F