There’s a distinct lack of energy and unfortunate fizzle present throughout Neil Jordan‘s Marlowe. It’s stylish, has an impeccable cast, and certainly isn’t lost on narrative potential, but the titular character as played by Liam Neeson – based off Raymond Chandler‘s famous detective – feels like they’d much rather be sipping a cuppa than solving crime.
Neeson, whose appearance here marks his 100th feature, doesn’t exactly feels like he’s in his most dynamic form as detective Phillip Marlowe, who, in the seedy setting of 1939 Los Angeles, is called upon by femme fatale (or, at least, she attempts to be) Clare Cavendish (Diane Kruger), a shady blonde looking for her ex-lover who may have faked his death. Kruger has the perfect look for the period of the film, but from her introduction it’s clear she doesn’t quite have what it takes to make William Monahan’s script work, with the exaggerated gumshoe-era dialogue leaving her mouth with an awkwardness that immediately sets her character back.
Faring better is Jessica Lange as Dorothy Quincannon, Clare’s actress mother, who initially is unsure of the services Marlowe is providing her daughter, and whose husband is a movie studio type who has all the makings of a prime suspect in a case that seems to add more characters to the fray in the hopes of masking how uneventful it all is. Lange knows how to navigate her icy movie star in a manner that complements the material, and the scenes of her back and forthing with Neeson is where the film starts to feel momentarily alive.
If Marlowe executed his work quickly and found just who Clare has been searching for there wouldn’t be much of a movie, so it makes sense that Monahan and Jordan introduce some obstacles to overcome, with Danny Huston and Alan Cumming making their presence felt throughout as, respectively, a club owner who doesn’t appreciate Marlowe’s investigative instincts and a smooth-talking businessman who seeks to hire the detective himself. Huston, like Lange, looks the part and he doesn’t have to do much to appear villainous, but it’s Cumming who truly livens proceedings, with the actor clearly aware of what type of picture he’s in and leaning in accordingly.
Given all the clear talent on board here, Marlowe can’t help but feel like even more of a misfire when you take all things into account. There’s a truly great thriller lying in here somewhere, one that definitely involves Lange and Cumming, and, sadly, without Neeson. Whilst it’s refreshing to see the actor in something other than the countless action vehicles he’s been relegated to in the wake of Taken, this isn’t an organic fit for a character that demands far more charisma.
TWO STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
Marlowe is screening in Australian theatres from May 18th, 2023.
