Genres

Visitors Review

2012-05-21 08:57:16

Confused and all over the place

Because of the strong list of actors in this movie, "The Singing Detective" could have been an absolute gem, but it was simply bogged down by the writing. From start to finish this script seems confused, as though the writer was trying to cram way too many things into one simple film. This movie is about Dark, a novelist laid up in hospital with a severe skin condition. Here he hallucinates about being a private detective in the 30's or 40's, where the story is even more muddled by strange musical lip-synching that hardly advances the plot. The acting here is strong, as Robert Downey Jr. is in his usual fine form, going from a film noir detective to a bitter patient in the present day. Katie Holmes and Robin Wright Penn also deliver strong performances as a nurse and Dark's wife, respectively. The true achievement in this film is the performance of Mel Gibson, who plays an eccentric psychotherapist for Dark. He plays the doctor with an impressive quirkiness that I thought was not possible from the usually wooden Gibson. I think this movie could have really been great, and there are elements here that glimmer with hope, but it all falls flat because of the overbearing script. Had the writer been more focused, or sure of what he wanted to see up on the screen, then this movie would have been alot better than it was.

peterhoffman 2012-05-20 20:43:48

If your in the mood for a weird one.

I have to say I never saw the series or read any of the books, so Ienter this comment by saying I saw this film without anypreconceived visions of what it should be like.The acting - excellent. Downey Jr, Penn, Holmes and especially aalmost unrecognizable Gibson did excellent work with what can beconsidered a combination of "Fear and Loathing" and a musical.The lip-syncing to old music is not only funny but saves us fromhaving to judge the singing talents of the cast. The less distractionfor this movie the better.But the story suffered from a lot of dream-like flashes that began tobreak apart the audiences connection with the plight of the maincharacter. Most other audience members I spoke with at thepremiere agreed to basically a one word critique - weird. Thismovie is not great, but weird. If your in the mood for a little fun noir,this one is for you.

MBunge 2012-05-11 23:13:05

That must have been one great TV show

This movie is a big screen adaptation of a 1986 British televisionseries. I've never seen the original program but I have to assume itwas unbelievably good, because that's the only possible thing thatcould have blinded everyone involved with this film from recognizingwhat an incredible mess it is.The Singing Detective is the story of Dan Dark (Robert Downey Jr.), awriter of detective stories who's been struck down by a painful andcrippling skin condition. Virtually trapped in his hospital bed, Darkis beset by daydreams where he's the lead character in one of his ownbooks and hallucinatory musical numbers where people start dancing andlip syncing to songs from the 1950s. Dark is also filled with ablinding rage and loathing for himself and almost everything aroundhim, especially his wife (Robin Wright Penn), who he paranoicallyfantasizes is trying to screw him out of his share of a movie deal.Dark is assigned to the care of a psychotherapist named Dr. Gibbon (MelGibson), who tries to find out the source of Dark's self-cripplinganger. That leads us to a bunch of flashbacks to Dark as a young boyand the tragic end of his cheating mother.If I had to guess, I'd say the point of this story is that Dark'sphysical and psychological problems are linked and his body cannot healunless his mental and emotional wounds are also fixed. That's only aguess, though, because such a link is only alluded to in the film andnever demonstrated. If you don't pay close attention, you might thinkit was just the opposite – that Dark's physical improvements are whatenable his breakthroughs in therapy.The Singing Detective tries to be a whole bunch of things as a storybut doesn't seem to understand how to actually be any of those things.It's supposed to be comedic, but it's not really funny. It's supposedto be a musical, but people lip sync instead of sing. I t's supposed tobe dramatic, but the story's tone is so phony and artificial thatthere's no emotional impact when it tries to be serious. It's supposedto be fantastic by mixing up reality with Dark's delusions anddaydreams, but it confuses up bizarre hallucinations, imaginary flightsof fancy, paranoid obsessions and childhood memories. By the time twoof Dark's fictional characters seemingly come to life in the realworld, there's no real point to it all except a forced and deliberateeffort to be "kooky" and "offbeat".The Singing Detective is more a flawed movie than a bad one. But itsflaws are so basic and so emphatic that I was just waiting for the filmto be over. As I wrote before, the original TV series must have beenreally, really good. Wasting my time with the movie version, however,has left me with absolutely no interest in finding out.

Boba_Fett1138 2012-05-11 10:06:11

Confusing mess.

This is one rather odd unusual movie. It mixes several movie elementssuch as comedy, musical and film-noir. It's however one mix thatdoesn't really work out and comes across as an odd one.It's also most certainly due to the confusing script that mixes truthand fiction and uses lots of flashback elements that also mixes pastwith 'present'. What is this movie really about? What story does it tryto tell? Exactly what is the point of this entire movie and what doesit try to achieve.The movie obviously tries to be an homage to the '50's and the '50'smovie genre but it does so without having much style of its own. Theclothes are right, the dialogs are right but the atmosphere reallyisn't, which is of course the most important element. The musicalelements could had helped to let the movie work out better but themovie chooses to use evergreens instead new, specifically for thismovie written songs. Also the fact that the actors are obviouslyplay-backing to the real singers is a reason why it just doesn't everwork out in the movie. The movie tries to be stylish and fun but it'sperhaps trying to hard, which causes it to work ineffective. This moviegave me the feeling that a different director could had still let thismovie work out.The movie obviously doesn't try to be serious but it does this byactually having also very little humor in it. Yeah, you can say thatthis movie is a black comedy but this movie really isn't the best ormost effective example in its genre.Too bad that the movie didn't really worked out, since it had a greatand surprising cast. It was Robert Downey Jr's. first big role afterhis drug addiction. He of course got the role through his good friendMel Gibson who is a producer of this movie. Downey Jr. does a good joband he once more shows how a great actor he is and how well he iscapable of carrying a movie. Mel Gibson himself also plays a surprisingrole underneath a lot of make-up effects. The movie further more alsofeatures Adrien Brody in his first role since his Oscar-winningperformance in "The Pianist". It really wasn't his greatest careerchoice.Has it's moments but in the end this movie leaves nothing more than apointless and confusing impression.4/10

2012-05-10 10:46:24

Robert Downey Jr., is The Singing Detective

During the first five minutes of this surrealistic film noir, surprisingly steeped knee deep in reality, we watched principal character, Dan Dark/Downey literally ravage against hospital staff members, hurling verbal obscenities and dishing out caustic abuse at random. Dark’s only weapon is his acid tongue as he’s rendered useless, while laid flat out, trapped inside of a body covered by lesions, symptomatic of a debilitating form of psoriasis. Not only is his body stiff, but his hands are curled, with limited, rigid movements and that doesn’t begin take into consideration the restless turmoil existing within his mind. This is the place where he feels most imprisoned and helpless. A sort of pergatory, where he dwells while waiting for his fate to unfold. I appreciated the many ways creator, Dennis Potter, interjected and interwove characters and scenes, in and out of the starkness of the hospital setting, to the tainted, inner workings of the detective novelist’s mind, as bedridden Dark lay haunted by unresolved memories from his emotionally abusive youth. After engaging in a sordid affair, Dark’s mother uprooted herself and her little boy to go to work as a prostitute, while doing little to shield her child from her new vocation. These actions resulted in Dark having little faith or trust in women. As a result, he subliminally projected those beliefs, in conjunction with his anger, onto the female characters in his stories. And onto his wife who becomes the recipient of most of his venom. All of this occurs concurrently with another one of his detective stories, while he envisions himself as the hard-boiled hero of his novels. Trying to solve crime inside of the pages and simultaneously attempting to get a grip on the unspeakable hurts from his past, still existing within his fertile mind. During Dark’s journeys into his vivid hallucinations and his childhood, 50’s song and cheesy dance routines spring to life as he works towards uncovering the root of his illness, aided by the unconventional methods of one Dr. Gibbon, uniquely portrayed by Downey’s friend, Mel Gibson. Director, Keith Gordon, did a splendid job of utilizing Potter’s initial recreation to the fullest without losing the integrity of the plot or compromising the images and emotions projected on screen by the film’s key players. This comedic version is not as dark as the mini-series and that's how Potter wanted it. As an audience, we were led on a fascinating journey, while wondering what was fact or fiction, which for me was part of the magic of the film’s concept. I enjoy being prodded a little when I watch a movie and don’t like to be hit over the head with obviousness. Not convoluted, but challenging, this revised film was delightful to watch. Just when some of the heavier scenes started to make me squirm, something humourous would occur from out of the blue. Not only was Dark being chased by his own shadow and two thugs, but he also suffered from acute paranoia, believing his wife was after his money and it was hysterical at times watching him try to distinguish his demons from his angels. In addition to a wonderful performance by Mel Gibson, who shares some brilliant scenes with Downey, each supporting cast member is terrific and important to the story and it’s merit. Robin Wright Penn and Downey have excellent chemistry and Katie Holmes, who is featured as Dark’s sexy but benevolent nurse is oh, so sweet. Carla Gugino’s dual role as Dark’s mother and the victim in his novel is equally memorable, with Adrian Brody providing light-hearted support as one of the “bad” guys. I would have enjoyed seeing Holmes character receive more screen time, but her role was certainly key to the story and provided levity and sexual fantasy to Dark’s brooding mental state. The concept of the film is different and doesn’t conform to rules or a formula often utilized by Hollywood studios, yet far more refreshing. A highlight was listening to Downey himself sing a soothing rendition of Gene Vincent’s “In My Dreams” as the credits rolled across the screen. Clearly and unequivocally, this film belongs to Robert Downey Jr., as he literally consumes and lives within the soul of the movie. He is simply outstanding in the role of Dan Dark as he moves seamlessly from physical and emotionally crippled patient with razor sharp wit, to street smart detective, to heartbreakingly handsome crooner of the after hours clubs. He’s bright. He’s funny. He’s poignant and he reminds you in every single scene just what a damned good actor he is. (No wonder Sean Penn tipped his hat to Downey when receiving his own best actor Oscar this year.) Downey’s secret is that he pulls out all of the stops with a natural and effortless flair. It’s been a while since I’ve chuckled that frequently, or my emotions have been toyed with so shamelessly while being transformed from my comfort zone to a new kind of Twilight Zone. Money well spent for an evening of guaranteed, but unusual entertainment.

jbels 2012-05-10 05:40:11

Sorely misses its mark

Firstly, this project needed a much more stylized director than KeithGordon, who is fine for straight, simple films but just doesn't know howtofilm a frame. The movie is dour, lacking of any real magic, and is onlyworth it to witness the funny and stunning transformation of Mel Gibson.Even the songs chosen were unoriginal. A total misfire.

Martin Bradley 2012-05-09 16:39:11

Mediocre big-screen blow up

Whatever merits Dennis Potter's drama had on TV they are completelyobliterated in this large-screen Hollywood version. Whereas Potter's"Pennies from Heaven" transferred magnificently to the cinema, (forstarters it had a plot, a sense of both time and place and somestunning musical numbers), this is both inconsequential and largelyincomprehensible. (If I hadn't seen the television series I'm sure Iwould never have known what was going on). Not that working out what'shappening is really worth the effort; it's fundamentally mediocre andsince Potter himself did the adaptation we know where the blame lies. Adecent cast, including a heavily disguised Mel Gibson, do their bestwith the material but no-one seems to be able to work up anyenthusiasm. One to avoid.

hokeybutt 2012-05-09 04:40:51

Another Feather In The Cap For Mel Gibson... I Finally Forgive Him For Lethal Weapon 4!

THE SINGING DETECTIVE (3 outta 5 stars) Excellent main performance byRobert Downey Jr. as a writer of detective stories who is stricken witha horrible skin disease which makes his every movement extremelypainful. He is basically trapped in his hospital bed and at the mercyof the doctors, nurses and attendants. With nothing else to do hebegins to hallucinate... mixing up plots of his novels with personaldetails from his past. Also people he talks to tend to startlip-syncing old 50s tunes for no particular reason. Mel Gibson has agreat supporting role as a psychiatrist who thinks that there may be apsychological component to Downey's suffering and seeks to get to thebottom of it. Odd, little film has a lot of interesting scenes andcharacters... unfortunately there are a number of scenes that kind offall flat, too. Not to worry, the movie is still well worth seeing...if for no other reason than to see a balding Mel. Gibson produced themovie... which is probably the only reason they were able to afford toget him in a small, independent movie like this.

Johnny10 2012-05-05 03:21:09

Creative and Amazing

I enjoyed nearly every moment in The Singing Detective. I immenselyenjoyed the developed chacters and the creativity that was put intothis great film. The Singing Detective is a dark comedy and chacterstudy, and throw in a couple musicals. The Singing Detective might notbe for everyone, it is a strange and has an odd sense of humor.Althoughfor me i thought the comedy was clever and the story and dialog werecreative in every way. in conclusion, if dark comedies and some reallygood acting (Robert Downey Jr. never lets me down with his amazingperformances and this movie, explains why he is so damn good), and purecreativity is your cup of tea then, i strongly suggest The SingingDetective.

jpschapira 2012-05-04 19:46:05

...???

"The singing detective" has a lot of problems, mainly with itsnarrative. But it is that kind of film that tries to make us believe itis doing things right because it certainly knows it is probably not.Seems difficult? It's not. There was a mini-series in the 80's called"The singing detective", created by the late, Oscar-nominated writerDennis Potter. The man apparently also wrote a film screenplay for the6 hours long series, and nine years after his death it became a movie.Keith Gordon had the courage of directing it. Mel Gibson had thecourage of producing it and acting in it, and Robert Downey Jr. had theguts of starring it, playing the dysfunctional, visionary, crazy writerDan Dark (it was not the name in the series, but never mind). The roleis a great challenge for any actor, and Downey Jr. is a man who knowsabout challenges; so his performance is undoubtedly superb.Not just him, but Mel Gibson's change for the insistent psychiatristDr. Gibbon is remarkable, as his performance. Adrien Brody appears as amysterious hood, a mobster, a killer, who knows? But it is great to seehim showing his talent here, and as I keep on watching in differentfilms, I realize he's extremely talented, but that the role that wonhim an Oscar didn't show any of that. I have to watch "The Pianist"again.Underrated actors like Carla Gugino and Jeremy Northam have also gotkey roles in the film; and Robin Wright Penn plays her contradictorycharacter as good as always. There's even Katie Holmes as a very prettynurse that, I must confess, was my first reason to watch the picture.So as you see, there are many good elements in the piece; thechoreographies are outstanding, and the musical scenes too, the visualsand the direction are precise… But you get lost, somewhere between the songs, the plot and theparallel universes (no, it's not "Matrix"), you can't help gettinglost. Want to blame Dennis Potter? Too late, he's dead. Anyway, someoneshould have told him that he was putting (better condensing), again,six hours, into just an hour and forty minutes.Funny it turns out to be, because there's too much in too little, so itgets to the point that we could be in a David Lynch experiment orsomething. I'm sure it is a very intelligent movie, with veryintelligent intentions to make us think and figure out Dan Dark's mind.Not a lot would have taken the chance, so I congratulate Gordon and hiscrew.I congratulate Downey Jr. too; fine and respected actor that must havefound real life similarities in the role. I'm confused though, withthings that are too wise for their own good. It's not how it works withthese types of films, or it's not how I know it works, or how it shouldwork. Better luck next time guys.

2012-05-04 08:14:31

Defining a Unique Style of Film

THE SINGING DETECTIVE is a brave new world for cinema. Adroitly written, directed by Keith Gordon, and 'performed' by a wonderful ensemble of actors, this is not a 'film noir', not a musical in the vein of "Moulin Rouge" of Baz Luhrman, not a flashback to 'golden oldies': this film is a randy combination of all these elements and more. It is a thriller/spoof/comedy/tender statement about man's isolation and dependency on illusion to explain the past, and just plain bizarre but thoroughly entertaining stuff! The cast is headed by a bravura performance by Robert Downey, Jr. in the title role - a hospitalized man who deals with his childhood and life by creating a fictional movie in which he is embedded as a detective. Also superb are Robin Wright Penn, Jeremy Northam, Katie Holmes, Alfre Woodard, Mel Gibson, and Adrien Brody among other more minor roles. The staged 'musical numbers' are lip-synched favorites by the main actors and are sensational in the way they weave into the story line. You must be in an adventuresome mood to enjoy this movie, but give it a chance and it will mesmerize you.

2012-05-03 21:08:29

wasn't quite right

In 1986 I saw The Singing Detective on PBS. It starred Michael Gambon and was simply incredible. It was probably one of the top ten miniseries to ever show up on TV. So, when I heard that Robert Downey Jr. was doing a movie version I was excited. There's something wrong witht this movie and I can't quite put my finger on what it is. Robert Downey is a fine actor and does a good job with a tough role as Dan Dark, a writer in the hospital suffering from a combination of arthritis and psoriasis gone beserk. He looks ghastly, feels ghastly and behaves viciously towards the hospital staff who force him to see a psychiatrist played astonishingly by Mel Gibson. Betweeen Mel's acting and makeup you'd never know it was him. Dan is in such pain that he's hallucinating and when he's not doing that he comforts himself by thinking about his first book, The Singing Detective. It's set in the 50s and all the songs Dan sings come from that era as well. As he get's better and reluctantly works with the doctor Dan is forced to relive the worst thing that ever happened to him. The movie largely stays faithful to the original material but somehow I didn't feel the same sympathy for Robert Downey's version of the character as I had for Michael Gambon. The father isn't as tragic and the mother didn't have the same impact. Robin Penn playing the ex wife was extremely unattractive. And the ending came just a litte to easy in this version and would tick off anyone who's been seriously ill either physically or mentally. This version of Singing Detective is like Brahms being played by a music box. It's music but it doesn't compare to Brahms being played by a great musician. Buy the Gambon version instead or just watch this one on TV.

Roland E. Zwick 2012-04-30 01:24:19

Not perfect but interesting at times

When 'The Singing Detective' was first produced as a TV mini series in1986, it had a cumulative running time of well over 400 minutes. Inthis theatrical remake, the story has been pared down to no more than106. I haven't seen the original - which enjoyed almost unprecedentedcritical acclaim in its time - so I have no idea how much of itsquality has been lost in its currently truncated form. Hence, I willonly be talking about this expurgated version, which stars RobertDowney Jr. and Mel Gibson, both in virtually unrecognizable roles. Itshould be noted that the screenplay is credited to the late DennisPotter, the author of the original work, so we can assume that directorKeith Gordon simply cut and pasted - though a less charitable personmight say 'bowdlerized' - the much longer teleplay. 'The Singing Detective' tells the surrealistic tale of a writer ofdetective fictions who is suffering from a horrifically painful anddisfiguring skin disease. As he lies in his hospital bed, his minddrifts back and forth between reality and fantasy, a hallucinatorycondition brought on by fever and his own author's imagination. Attimes, Dan is acutely aware of his miserable situation in the here andnow, with all its attendant physical and psychological agony. At othertimes he becomes lost in re-enactments of key scenes from his gumshoefictions, memories of his miserable childhood, and elaborately stagedsong-and-dance numbers in which the characters lip-synch to musicalstandards from the '40's and '50's. Because its style and subject matter are somewhat off-putting at first,'The Singing Detective' takes a bit of getting used to, but eventuallythe themes and stylistic elements begin to come together and the filmtakes off. The irony is that, for all the razzle dazzle of its form andstyle, the film is at its most intriguing in its quieter, subtlermoments when the embittered hospital patient is forced to confront thedemons of his own tormented psyche. Dan Dark is a man who obviouslyprefers the world of fantasy to the cold harshness of an oftenexcruciatingly painful reality. In addition to his debilitatingdisease, Dan is also haunted by a failed marriage and an often tragicchildhood that he tries to 'correct' by entering the world of idealizedfiction, one that he can manipulate and control. As the bombastichospital psychologist figures out, Dan's illness is essentiallypsychosomatic in nature, one rooted in his inability to accept therealities of life in his own skin. In fact, Dan ultimately discoversthat his disease is as much a product of his imagination as thescenarios and characters that make up his fiction. The illness becomeshis way of not having to deal with his inner torments. Somewhatparadoxically, his writing becomes a form of therapy for him, helpinghim to deal with all that unresolved bitterness in his soul. The filmis as much about psychological healing as it is about physical healing.Oddly enough, Dan's confrontations with his wife, psychologist andother hospital staff are actually far more interesting than what ishappening in his rather puerile imagination. Still, towards the end ofthe film, when Dan starts to make some profound psychologicalbreakthroughs, the fantasy scenes actually do begin to work and thecomplex structure pays off. Downey does a fantastic job bringing Dan to life, conveying both thephysical and emotional anguish the character is undergoing. Gibson hasa great deal of fun playing the part of a paunchy, balding psychiatristwhose unorthodox methods wind up getting to the root of his belligerentpatient's troubles. Robin Wright Penn, Jeremy Northam, Adrian Brody,Katie Homes and Alfre Woodard among others all deliver top notchsupporting performances. And special praise must surely go to the largemakeup staff whose work here is nothing short of miraculous.'The Singing Detective' will probably not satisfy die-hard fans of theoriginal lengthy mini series. But for the rest of us who have seen noother version than this one, the film's audacious style and complexthemes help the movie ride up and over its not inconsiderable flaws.

AnaR 2012-04-29 12:00:01

See this film with an open mind

TSD must not be judged alongside the earlier great miniseries. The filmhas to be allowed to stand on its own. Similarly, it is not a film thatis typical of Hollywood, so viewers can't expect the same 'stahvehicle', facile storytelling and gratuitous titillation's that comeout of Tinseltown. TSD is a complex, convoluted story that requires theaudience to think intelligently, to remain aware and to be able torecollect what has gone before.I found this film to be confronting, nasty, funny, moving, neurotic anddeeply sad. IMO, Downey is a good enough actor to not need his fans tokeep on harping about his past notoriety and drug abuses. He's anactor. He knows how to act and do that very well indeed. He played thetortured man in TSD with exactly the kind of skill and conviction thatI would expect of a man of his talents. It is an excellent portrayalbut not, imo, a great one. Katie Holmes's prettiness stood her in goodstead, but apart from that, almost any of the current crop of youngactresses could have done as well. I fail to see why a wig and aprosthetic nose should win Mel Gibson such acclaim for his rathermundane performance. Robyn Wright Penn was utterly convincing as wasCarla Gugino. I liked Adrian Brody's shifty stand over man. But for me,the real standout performance was Jeremy Northam's as the handsome,oily, despicable, decadent and seductive Binney. I have read many timesthat Northam strives to select widely diverse roles, that he does notwant to ever be typecast, that he never wants to be choked by wingcollars again etc. Well, in TSD, he is about as far from Mr Knightly orPrince Amerigo or Wigram etc as he could possibly be! Here is amarvellously gifted character actor who is able to transform himself onscreen in a truly powerful way. I am a great fan of Northam's actingbut I confess that I found some of his scenes in TSD to be almost tooconfronting for comfort, but TSD is not about coddling its audience.The sum of its parts are intentionally awkward and messy, as a metaphorfor Dark's life, and so it is entirely appropriate that the charactersconvey these conflicts too. I would recommend this film to any who likea challenge, who are not afraid of having to think, and who are braveenough to take a step out of their own comfort zone.

2012-04-27 18:06:27

Went straight in the trash, deserves no stars

I picked this turkey up in the frozen food aisle of my local supermarket for a few bucks, though I would have been a better shopper buying a frozen pizza & bean burrito instead. The DVD gave me more indigestion. From the cover, I thought it might be a low-rent L.A. Confidential, being set in the 1950s with very pulpish cover art. I love noirs set in Los Angeles, but this is certainly no Double Indemnity. They must have blown the budget on Downey's skin disease, because you really have to see it. Hey director, ever hear of "establishing shot?" Made me wish for my old low-def analog 19" TV. It really does stink like a student film from a really troubled student. A real howler is the hospital operating staff from '50s L.A. supposedly. They look like a "diversity is our strength" poster from a community college. The black woman has a '80s style hairdo, though it doesn't really matter. Hollywood can't make a decent movie, but you certainly know who's voting for Obama in 2012. Yiiihaaaa! It's on its way to the landfill.

gapple-3 2012-04-27 01:19:00

Comparisons with earlier version unfair

I saw this film as part of a process of educating myself about thecareer of Robert Downey Jr after seeing his remarkable performance inKiss Kiss Bang Bang and realising to my shame that I could recallseeing him in Chaplin but not much else. I have been working my waythrough his films and I am staggered at the range and depth of histalent, even in mediocre films (and he has made a few). But one canonly agree with New Yorker critic Anthony Lane who wrote recently 'I'llwatch him in anything'.I disagree vehemently with those who've compared this Singing Detectiveunfavourably with the earlier version. I saw the original on televisionhere in Australia when it was first screened, and it was indeed a greatpiece of television (though I preferred Pennies from Heaven whichlaunched the international career of Bob Hoskins and was given a badHollywood remake). It's important to remember that Dennis Potterhimself wrote this script, specifically for a shorter film version, andwas keen to see it made. The dissenters should rent the DVD and listento director Keith Gordon's commentary if they are in any doubt that itis faithful to the spirit of Potter's intentions and his written word.The casting of Downey is a stroke of genius. Because he is a youngerand very attractive man, the gross disfigurement of his character withpsoriasis is infinitely more poignant than when the part was played byMichael Gambon - even when the Dan Dark character is behaving like atotal bastard. His performance is extraordinary: the sublety of hismood changes and facial reactions, and the pathos he draws out of thistrapped character (without a hint of schmaltz) just leap off the screen(even more remarkable given that for some of the time he was wearingmakeup that took hours to apply and initially caused a bad skinreaction;and that he was under threat of returning to jail on drugscharges, which is why the film had to be shot in LA rather than Chicago- he was not allowed to leave LA).I guess Downey's messy private life is one of the reasons he's such aninteresting and complex actor. One can only hope that other braveproducers will take a punt give him the big meaty parts that his talentdeserves. Don't let the nay sayers dissuade you from seeing this film; it'sgreat. Mel Gibson is (thankfully, for me) unrecognisable and the scenesbetween him and Downey are terrific. The supporting cast is uniformlyexcellent.

2012-04-26 19:12:15

Great Cast & Direction Drive Compelling Potter Update

The 2003 film version of THE SINGING DETECTIVE is by turns funny, scathing, and poignant, a woefully underrated look into a writer's psyche. If you don't have time to watch Dennis Potter's landmark TV miniseries (also available on home video), Potter's screenplay for this movie version (written 2 years before his untimely death) does a great job of condensing the story of novelist Dan Dark's (Robert Downey Jr.) battle with severe chronic psoriasis and personal demons. Throughout the movie, the bitter, suffering Dark weaves in and out of reality and delirious re-imaginings of the people and events in his life as they'd appear in the titular novel starring Dark's tough private eye alter ego. Actor-turned-director Keith Gordon stages this wild ride through Dark's mind with a style that owes as much to David Lynch and the Coen Brothers as it does to Potter. The British miniseries' lip-synched 1940s musical set pieces are retooled as American 1950s rock 'n' roll numbers -- call me a Philistine, but I think the updating works even better than the original (and believe me, I loved the original)! As a writer, I found THE SINGING DETECTIVE to be a fine example of how one's life and experiences creep into one's writing no matter what genre you write in. Each and every member of the stellar cast is letter-perfect, with particularly good, sharp chemistry between Downey and, respectively, Robin Wright Penn (I've always loved her name; it's especially appropriate for someone playing a writer's wife :-), and producer Mel Gibson (as Dark's seemingly goofy but astute and compassionate therapist, Gibson is all but unrecognizable in bald drag; Greg Cannom's F/X makeup serves both Gibson and Downey well. In fact, Downey's psoriasis makeup is so good you might not want to watch this while eating!). It's a shame THE SINGING DETECTIVE didn't do better with critics or at the box office, or Downey probably would've been a shoo-in for an Oscar nomination. I could empathize with Downey as the angry, clever, pain-racked (physically and emotionally) Dan Dark even when he wasn't particularly likable. The versatile Downey could be a Bogart for the Aughties if he could keep his own personal demons under control. I also enjoyed seeing our household fave Adrien Brody in a relatively lighthearted (for this film :-) role as one of a pair of Dark's fictional hoods with a bumbling streak. Jon Polito completes the pair; he and Brody are like an amoral Abbott & Costello. Their repartee cracked me up, especially their "Patti Page" exchange early in the film (just watching Brody mouthing the barks in "How Much Is That Doggie in the Window?" is worth the rental price! :-). Give this new SINGING DETECTIVE a try next time you're in the video store and in the mood for something different. If you rent the DVD and like it, watch it again with Keith Gordon's commentary track on; he has lots of intriguing and entertaining things to say about the making of the film, particularly about the cast and how he and his crew got those great surreal effects on a low budget.

ellenmuthfan 2012-04-26 03:09:10

Great movie and Robert and Katie Holmes are the highlights

While this movie has gotten bad reviews, I found it a very good movie withfunny as hell musical numbers. Robert was funny and a greatactor.I also liked Katie's Nurse Mills performance as well as the funniestmusicalnumber with her in it. However, i only bought the movie because I was afanof Katie but I found myself enjoying the entire movie without fastforwarding to just the Katie parts. I liked it and I highly recommend it!Ialso enjoyed everyone else's performances as well including Adrien BrodyandRobin Wright. Although not any better than Chicago and Moulin Rouge, Igivethis a movie ***1/2 out of four because Robert and Katie are thehighlightsof this movie.

2012-04-25 01:39:31

Touched by Genius

The film is a strange animal, all right, a work sans genre, and at times Gordon seems to have overreached himself, grasping for effects he isn't quite able to achieve. The various styles, moods, and genres give the film a slightly garish, amateurish feel, yet in the end (perhaps consciously on Gordon's part) this very awkwardness works in the film's favor. The Singing Detective is a remarkably ingenuous work, fresh and daring, almost childlike in its lack of pretension, and easily one of the most original American movies of the last twenty years. Above all, it showcases Robert Downey Jr.'s raging, embittered psoriasis-afflicted pulp writer, inside whose head the whole movie (more or less) takes place, and Downey gives an inventive, powerful performance, what may be the apotheosis of his enormous talent. Praise for Downey notwithstanding, on its release Gordon's film met with a wall of critical resistance, a veritable consensus of contempt. This may have been due in part (in the UK at least) to a fondness for Potter's original TV series; but it was perhaps due even more to the basic incompatibility of Potter's idiosyncratic, scathing vision with mainstream (critical) tastes. Whatever the case, the movie once again tragically failed to find its audience.As with his previous adaptations, Gordon respected the source material without revering it, and as a director, he has a rare gift: the ability to fuse his own sensibility and talents with his subject at a fundamental level. In the case of The Singing Detective, it was a somewhat less seamless fusion; Potter's vision (his bizarre blend of musical fantasy with bleak psychological realism) was so startlingly original it required another sensibility at least as strong and eccentric to fuse with. Gordon doesn't quite possess (yet) the surrealist gifts to make Potter's vision his own, or to take it to the next level (David Lynch might be the only director capable of that). He's a proficient director in every way, and seems to be blessed with a natural rapport with actors (perhaps why so many good ones want to work with him). Yet Gordon isn't a visionary director, and this was a visionary script. Fortunately, he had a visionary actor at a career peak to take up the slack, and Downey carries the day. The Singing Detective isn't a masterpiece; it's flawed and fractured and at times thin, even facile and occasionally redundant (most especially in the pseudo-noir sequences). But it's an imaginative and fearless piece of cinema, an admirably eccentric work that manages to do something like justice to a brilliant piece of writing. Full of inventive delights and heartfelt touches, it leaves most other recent American films in the dust. Yet it flopped badly, both in the UK and the US, being so poorly reviewed that many people (myself included) gave it a miss, wary of the stench of failure. As it happened, the bad smells came not from the film but from critics too corrupt and jaded to recognize a work of art when they saw it. (Excerpt from "True to the Muse: Keith Gordon's Life on the Fringe," from DOGVILLE VS. HOLLYWOOD, by Jake Horsley)

Daniel Fuller 2012-04-24 06:45:16

Good, but not as subversive as it thinks it is...

The film plays out like a Technicolour fever dream as reality meetsfiction meets fantasy through the eyes of Robert Downey Jr's Dan Dark,a long-suffering author with an eye-watering painful looking skincondition.Downey is on top form, and the gradual erosion of the boundariesbetween fantasy and reality is extremely effective as characters fromthe page walk into Dark's real world and vice versa.His illness represents the decay apparent in his life since hisdifficult childhood, and all the clever metaphors therein are exploitedbeyond the obvious.Downey is, as always, fantastic- the scenes with Mel Gibson a delight,and Robin Wright Penn exudes a vulnerable warmth in her role as hislong suffering wife. Adrien Brody's presence is superfluous; still whenhe is on screen he's pretty darn good.It's a film that's not as clever as it thinks it is, though- all thatsmart symbolism is explored beyond the plot of the story until itbecomes an exercise in showing you how to be clever on film, thoughfailing because it's so obvious.Great performances, and all in all a wonderfully bold- yet fragilestaging- of an a descent into illness and redemption, but flawed init's brash attempt to overwhelm the audience with clever twists andturns and techniques which ultimately give the impression it's tryingfar too hard to be subversive.