By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 0.5 cats
Director: Keith Gordon
Starring: Mel Gibson | Robert Downey Jr | Robin Wright Penn
Country: united_states
Year: 2003
Running time: 109
IMDB: http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0314676/combined
Bruce says: “Robert Downey, Jr. gives one of the greatest performances in one of the worst films I’ve ever seen. While I knew exactly what was going on, THE SINGING DETECTIVE still made little sense and held little interest.
“Downey plays Dan Dark, a psoriasis-ridden detective novelist who ends up in hospital as a result of the intensity of his skin disease. Dark’s therapy is to heal himself with his mind.
“But what a mind. He has bouts of persistent paranoia, suffers from hallucinations, engages in outrageous sexually compulsive fantasies – all the while placing himself as the lead in his detective story plus believing that the evil characters in his stories are invading his own life, roaming the corridors of the hospital to finish him off for once and for all. His mother, father and wife all are characters in his writing. And that’s not all – he sings, too. In between shootings, chases, therapy sessions and nurses administering his scarred body tissue, Dark bursts into song.
“Thinking about why this film doesn’t work is a lot more fascinating that watching it. The problems lie with the direction and the writing. First, let’s look at the writing. When we first see Dan Dark he is in hospital covered in psoriasis. He looks as though a million cigarettes, cigars and cigarillos have been extinguished on his body. He is in mental and physical agony. But who is this creature? We never have a glimpse of the man before his crisis. The depth of the viewer’s empathy is contingent on knowing the subject. This is a serious flaw in Dennis Potter’s writing, particularly since it is an autobiographical work. I have not seen the mini-series which I know is much better than the film and probably better written.
“Director Gordon is not up to the task of directing a multi-layered vehicle such as this. He certainly is not in the league of Spike Jonze, Darren Aronofsky, or Lars von Trier, directors who know how to weave fantasy into the narrative line with a comprehensible result.
“Downey lights up the screen as he slips in and out of his two personas, never once missing a beat, acting as though it all were a simple day’s work. His singing voice is terrific. I hope he soon finds the right role for attaining the fame and recognition he so richly deserves. He is one of the film world’s most valuable resources.” 1/2 cat
Laura says: “Although the film itself is a mixed bag, Robert Downey Jr. gives a fabulous performance in THE SINGING DETECTIVE”