A Detective Story (2003)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Shinichirô Watanabe

Writers:

Ellen Moore (additional dialogue)
Manjiro Ooshio (story)

Genre:

Drama | Fantasy | Animation | Sci-Fi | Short

Plot:

A private detective is hired to track down the computer hacker known as Trinity. But as he gets close his goal, reality takes a weird turn for him.

Plot Keywords:

Detective | Cat | Morphing | Neo Noir | Gun

Cast

James Arnold Taylor	...	Ash (voice)
Carrie-Anne Moss	...	Trinity (voice)
Terrence 'T.C.' Carson	...	Clarence (voice) (as T. C. Carson)
Matt McKenzie	...	Agent (voice)

Also Known As:

The Animatrix: A Detective Story (USA) (series title)

Runtime:

Finland:10 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Certification:

Finland:K-15

Company:

Studio 4°C

Trivia:

The main protagonist Ash mentions Same Spade and Philip Marlowe near the beginning of the story. Spade and Marlowe were characters created by Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler (respectively), the originators of the hard-boiled genre of literature.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Ash: A case to end all cases...

Movie Connections:

References Dark City (1998)

Soundtrack:

BLIND TIGER

Stylish, gritty and enjoyable

Ash is a private detective who is down on his luck. Tired of investigating cheating wives for suspicious husbands, he stares at his empty bank account and empty fridge and he decides that this business is not for him. It is then he gets a call and payment from a mysterious employer who asks him to find the hacker `Trinity'.

Opening with a great atmosphere of noir detective thrillers, this film continues in this vein until it turns into a confrontation on the train with some agents. Part of the series of animations making up the Matrix companion piece `The Animatrix', I saw this as a stand alone piece recently at a festival of shorts and animations and it stood out for me thanks to this same style. However the substance is also engaging even if it takes liberties at times, the length of time it takes the agents to come down the carriage for example, or the sudden semi-understanding that Ash seems to have near the end. Despite this, the plot still works pretty well - certainly enough to hold the style in check.

Visually, the short is great. It creates a sense of period that isn't undone by the agents, guns or Trinity. It feels like it was charcoal drawn (it wasn't) and it really feels moody and dark. Also, out of all the entries in the series, this is the one that gets the look and feel of the agents down best. The voice work is good as well with good input from Moss; who's incarnation here manages to look feminine - a feat she failed to accomplish in the last two of the films!

Overall this is a good film even if it loses it's way substance-wise at times. It is dark and brooding and has a conclusion that befits the look and feel of the film. All round one of the best of the series.