Review: Liam Neeson plays detective Philip Marlowe in Neil Jordan’s film adaptation of “The Black-Eyed Blonde”
Not that Neeson is to blame. In this shockingly dull production, directed by Neil Jordan, equally promising elements never come together in a convincing or engrossing way: This is the kind of movie in which almost none of the actors seem to believe a word they’re saying, including “and” and “the.”
The one exception is Jessica Lange, who portrays a fading Hollywood movie star with captivating bite and seductive allure. She plays Dorothy Cavendish, whose daughter Clare has hired Philip Marlowe to find her lover Nico. The inciting incident sends Marlowe on a familiar trail of clues and characters that should up the ante on suspense.
Jordan’s choice to cast Huston will strike some viewers as a clever callback to Huston’s father’s role in “Chinatown.” Others will be reminded of just how rarely modern-day attempts to revive the hard-boiled crime thriller succeed. In this case, “Marlowe” is stilted where it should be stylish, tiresome when it should be twisty, airless when it should be engrossing.
Less intriguingly convoluted than concussed into lifelessness, “Marlowe” is the cinematic equivalent of a word salad: It parrots all the right lines while striking all the right poses, without saying much of anything at all.
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