MARLOWE

Liam Neeson, Jessica Lange Return

Yes, two of our “old” favorites are back on the screen, so we decided to go to the CINEMA. The show is rated “R” for violent content, language, brief drug use, and some sexual material. However, I believe we have seen some PG-13 movies that I thought were more in need of an “R” than this one—but use caution! Running time is ten minutes short of two hours.

LIAM NEESON (now 70 years young) (Philip Marlowe), JESSICA LANGE (Dorothy Cavendish), DIANE KRUGER (Clare Cavendish), ADEWALE AKINNUOYE- AGBAJE (chauffeur) (Cedric), COLM MEANEY (Bernie Ohis), Alan Cumming (nightclub owner), Danny Huston (Hollywood “honcho”), and more…..

We liked this movie pretty much, but the professional reviewers did not (F). Two even characterized it as a “plodding, mundane, lifeless film,” even with “its stacked and talented cast.” I did agree with another harsh critic, who said the movie is “beautifully shot,” but I disagreed with his characterization of it as a “nothing” movie. The general public has not been much kinder (D). I rather liked one viewer’s assessment of it as “not a bad film, just a disappointment considering what was expected.” And I will print the nice thoughts of another “fan,” who wrote, “It was not your typical Liam Neeson movie, but it was a carefully crafted ‘era’ movie, and I did not know how or who was the perpetrator until the end.”

It is an offering of mystery, thrills, and crimes and is set in the late ’30s early ‘40s “Bay Area.” Finding an EXLOVER of an heiress (goodlooking to say the least) becomes the job of a detective (MARLOWE) who has “been better” and is not really happy about his situation in life.

Clare is the married woman who is more than a little upset by the “disappearance of her boyfriend.” And Clare’s mom, Dorothy, is also overly interested in her daughter’s life and hidden adventures. And not to “give anything away,” but the chauffeur, by the end, is probably my favorite character of all the cast! But, I will not tell you whether Marlowe finds the missing person or not!

Playing the PHILIP MARLOWE character in years previous to this (I think.) were Elliott Gould, James Garner, and Humphrey Bogart, and fond memories of these three did not help the image that Neeson put forth!

P. S. If you were in my class at F. H. S., Diane Kruger (Clare Cavendish) is a good example of the literary term, femme fatale, and do you remember Christopher Marlowe, the British dramatist? Maybe his works show some relation to this “Marlowe.”