Dull and uninvolving, Marlowe is unexpectedly devoid of any charm or suspense as the private detective is hired to find a missing person in 1939 Los Angeles.
A seemingly straightforward job is anything but as Marlowe (a solidly world-weary Liam Neeson) discovers that (unsurprisingly) not everything is as it seems. The wealthy, married Clare Cavendish (Diane Kruger) wants to know why her lover Nico (François Arnaud) has disappeared. Reported dead, Clare is convinced she spotted him in Mexico. Turns out that quite a few other less salubrious mobsters would also like to know – as well as Clare’s powerful mother, Dorothy Quincannon (Jessica Lange). The more he digs, the more deceit and corruption among the city’s elite Marlowe uncovers.
A strong on-paper cast is wasted in Neil Jordan’s unexpectedly uninspiring noir thriller, co-written with the Oscar-winning William Monahan. Full of sumptuous period detail it may be, but Marlowe oozes replica rather than authentic, missing out as it does anything close to the Marlowe of Bogart and Raymond Chandler.
Rating: 49%
Director: Neil Jordan (The Crying Game, The End of the Affair)
Writer: William Monahan (The Departed, The Tender Bar), Neil Jordan (The Crying Game, The End of the Affair) – based on the book The Black-Eyed Blonde by John Banville
Main cast: Liam Neeson (Kinsey, Schindler’s List), Diane Kruger (In the Fade, Inglourious Basterds), Jessica Lange (Tootsie, Frances)
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