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Monday, March 20, 2023

MARLOWE (2022)

Neil Jordan’s Philip Marlowe: Senior Citizen Edition, largely ignored on release (indifferently received when not), with Liam Neeson as the classic P.I. working a case in late-‘30s L.A. (filmed in Spain and missing harsh L.A. glare & atmosphere*), shoots for world-weary, settles for weary.  Yet Jordan, an awfully talented fellow, locates sly, effective moments in a story (not by Raymond Chandler BTW) that centers on a dicey mother/daughter relationship (Jessica Lange/Diane Kruger); a missing Latin Lover (reported dead); a hidden cache of cocaine; and the usual crew of unhelpful suspects & ambivalent police.  (What, no water rights?)  Jordan jumps right into things, starting with the traditional office visit for client & detective, cutting to the chase as if he were filming a sequel and we were already up to speed.  (Hint: assuming you’re not up to speed, try repeating the first 30 or forty minutes before going on.  The film will actually feel 30 minutes shorter.)  Fortunately, both Neeson and the film grow on you.  And if Liam at 70 is no longer the first guy you’d call to go on a chase, he's still a powerful physical presence on screen.  Those ham hock hands really pack a punch.  As does the film, in its limited way.

DOUBLE-BILL/LINK:  More underrated P.I. work from Neeson in A WALK AMONG THE TOMBSTONES/’04  https://maksquibs.blogspot.com/2015/06/a-walk-among-tombstones-2014.html  OR:  *Robert Altman’s controversial, post-modern take on Chandler, with contemporary L.A. atmosphere to spare and a contemporary Marlowe in Elliot Gould.  It’s also centered on a plot keyed to a misreported dead guy.  https://maksquibs.blogspot.com/2015/03/the-long-goodbye-1973.html

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