Category Archives: Mystery

Whodunnit, and other such conundrums.

The Naked City (1948)

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2007 #112
Jules Dassin | 92 mins | DVD | PG

The Naked CityPolice procedural film noir, shot entirely on location in New York (unusual at the time).

The story is quite straightforward — girl is murdered, police investigate — but it exists mainly as a structure on which to hang perspectives of the city, its criminals and its law enforcement (though in an infinitely less pretentious way than that sounds). The odd, character-less voice-over narration is more puzzling than any mystery in the plot.

The acting is sometimes stilted and some of the direction is actually a little flat, but there are enough enjoyable elements to cover for it — particularly the chance to see so much footage of a real city at this time.

4 out of 5

Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion (1997)

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aka Shin seiki Evangelion Gekijô-ban: Air/Magokoro wo, kimi ni

2007 #107
Hideaki Anno & Kazuya Tsurumaki | 90 mins | DVD | 15

Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of EvangelionEight weeks and sixteen films later than I’d’ve liked, I can finally complete the Evangelion story! (For my review of the first film, look here.)

First off, don’t even attempt this if you haven’t seen all of the (excellent) TV series — it won’t even vaguelly make sense. Sadly, if you have seen the series, it’s a disappointing climax. Promising a clearer ending than the original arty philosophical one, it winds up delivering something that’s almost as bad. It’s somewhat redeemed by what leads up to this final confusing half hour: some proper story, resolutions for some outstanding plot threads, and a few instances of decent action too. As a conclusion it’s far from satisfying, though.

One can only hope the new four-film remake of the whole story (the first of which was recently released in Japan), which promises another fresh conclusion, can come up with something more comprehensible. I wouldn’t count on it.

3 out of 5

Citizen Kane (1941)

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2007 #100
1941 | Orson Welles | 114 mins | DVD | U / PG

As of 1st August 2012, Citizen Kane is no longer the greatest film of all time. Here are some brief, aimless thoughts I had about it when I saw it for the first time, almost exactly five years ago…

Citizen KaneYes, that’s right: I’m a film buff and I’ve never seen Citizen Kane. I think this is a good occasion to have saved it for though. But I digress — what of the film itself; the film often voted Best Ever in countless polls?

Certainly, a lot of its fame rests on its innovations — the frequently ambitious camera work, the non-linear narrative, the multiple perspectives, the ‘trick’ beginnings, the dramatic lighting, the expansive sets… Not all of these are truly new (European art cinema and silent movies generally got to some first), but Welles can be credited for bringing some of it to the Hollywood mainstream; and even then, there’s enough truly new to justify the praise. A lot of it may be commonplace now, or at least widely imitated, but viewed in light of the limitations of the time it is frequently breathtaking.

It isn’t just technically marvellous though: the story is moderately complex, telling and re-telling itself from various perspectives, framing recollections of Kane’s life within a ‘present day’ quest to find the meaning behind his final words. The jumps demand the viewer’s attention even today, the full story slowly coming together… even though it’s almost all given to you in a 10-minute fake newsreel at the start! Welles’ performance is exceptional, depicting Kane as he grows from a young reckless newspaper editor into an aged recluse. He’s aided by effective make-up (looking remarkably like Welles himself would later in life), but it’s his performance from under it that shows the real differences.

There’s a lot more to be said about Kane (much of it already has, of course), and you don’t need me to tell you that if you’re a film fan this is required viewing. But even if you’re a ‘Normal Person’ I’d recommend it — I can’t guarantee you’ll like it, but you might well be surprised.

5 out of 5

Citizen Kane placed 7th on my list of The Ten Best Films I Saw For the First Time in 2007, which can be read in full here.

A Study in Scarlet (1983)

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2007 #97
Ian Mackenzie & Alex Nicholas | 48 mins | DVD | U

A Study in ScarletPeter O’Toole is again the voice of the famous sleuth in this disappointing animated adaptation of the first Sherlock Holmes mystery.

The adaptation is faithful to the original novel’s structure (sadly, as it’s a somewhat bizarre one, and ripe for a more interesting interpretation), but loses any elements pertaining to Holmes and Watson’s first meeting. The animation seems more basic than the other entry in this particular series that I’ve seen, and O’Toole’s performance is flatter. The rest of the cast don’t fare any better. The story itself isn’t a bad one, but after being pleasantly surprised by The Sign of Four, I just found this to be disappointing.

2 out of 5

The Black Dahlia (2006)

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2007 #94
Brian De Palma | 116 mins | DVD | 15 / R

The Black DahliaNoir-wannabe, adapted from the James Ellroy novel based on a real, unsolved case. That case is far from the focus here: from the start the apparently-central crime is anything but, meaning the biggest let-down is that events barely follow the eponymous story.

It’s one of many problems in a film that tries hard to be a proper noir but fails in almost every respect: performances (most of which wind up flat), corny dialogue, plot, pretty-but-vacant direction, and even voice-over narration. I haven’t read the novel, but apparently it’s a poor adaptation too. What you want is a ’40s-style thriller; what you get is a weak ’40s-set character drama.

2 out of 5

The Cat’s Meow (2001)

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2007 #92
Peter Bogdanovich | 109 mins | DVD | 12 / PG-13

The Cat's MeowPossibly-true ‘murder mystery’ set in 1920s Hollywood.

As with the similar Gosford Park, the point lies less in plot and more in characterisation — there are some good performances, especially from Eddie Izzard, Joanna Lumley and Edward Herrmann, though Kirsten Dunst seems a bit flat in comparison. The era’s style suits her though, and the whole period is beautifully evoked; for my money the prettiest scenes are the black & white bookends.

Sadly the similarity to Gosford Park is the film’s main shortcoming: once realised, it’s clear that The Cat’s Meow doesn’t have the same subtle complexity in its story or performances. In its own right, though, there’s much to like.

3 out of 5

Neon Genesis Evangelion: Death & Rebirth (1997)

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aka Shin seiki Evangelion Gekijô-ban: Shito shinsei

2007 #91
Hideaki Anno, Masayuki & Tsurumaki Kazuya | 107 mins | DVD | 15

Neon Genesis Evangelion: Death &a RebirthThe genesis of this film is a long story (at least, longer than I’d like for this review!) The anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion ends with bizarre theme-centric episodes that fail to conclude the story; a film was produced to re-tell the end from a story-centric position and/or to provide an alternate ending (depending who you believe). This is not that film, but something that was released a bit before that.

The first 69 minutes (titled Death) are an intriguing reorganisation/summary of the series in a somewhat impressionistic way, including a few new scenes. It’s either quite clever or just a jumble. The final 27 minutes (titled Rebirth) are an all-new continuation of the story.

There are answers, revelations, some great sequences, and a great cliffhanger! Unfortunately this is also the start of the concluding film, which ultimately renders this as just one thing: a fan-only curio. Its main value, in my opinion, is the neat cliffhanger, which makes for a tantalising ending (instead of the first act plot point it must be in the next film).

If you’re curious about Evangelion and think a filmic summary sounds a good idea, don’t watch! Get hold of the series, it’s worth the time. (I’ll undoubtedly share my thoughts on the conclusion, The End of Evangelion, as soon as Play.com get it back in stock.)

2 out of 5

The Sign of Four (1983)

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2007 #83
Ian Mackenzie & Alex Nicholas | 47 mins | DVD | U

The Sign of FourA slightly unusual one to review, this: it’s a 49-minute animated Sherlock Holmes adaptation from the ’80s, one of four in this particular series. But, as best I can tell from IMDb, it’s not specifically TV-based, and it does feature the voice of Peter O’Toole. Vocally he makes for a good Holmes, though the character design could be a little better. I can’t recall the original story well enough to comment on this as an adaptation, but it’s a decent mystery that’s well explained. The animation is not bad; certainly no worse than most kids’ TV animation from the ’80s and ’90s, and better than the flat Flash-animated stuff of today. A solid production.

3 out of 5

Brick (2005)

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2007 #72
Rian Johnson | 105 mins | TV | 15 / R

BrickThere’s a nagging sense that you’re watching a student short film for large chunks of Brick, especially at the start. This is accompanied by a niggling worry that it’s also been vastly overrated.

But it does, eventually, kick into gear — the incomprehensible plot becomes a bit clearer and the fantasy that these high school kids are in some film noir becomes less irritating and more quite fun.

It occasionally lapses back into its earlier problems but, all said, I’m glad I bothered to stick with it.

4 out of 5

Mystic River (2003)

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2007 #66
Clint Eastwood | 132 mins | DVD | 15 / R

Mystic RiverThe acting is the main draw of this Oscar-winning murder drama, in which three childhood friends who grew apart are brought back together when one of their daughters is murdered. Tim Robbins is particularly excellent, easily earning his Best Supporting Actor Oscar.

Unfortunately most of the plot is not far above the standards of your average police procedural show, albeit fleshed out with more insight into the various characters and plot complexities — and, of course, with superior acting from all involved.

4 out of 5