A Detective Story (2003)

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.

Director:

Shin'ichirô Watanabe (as Shinichiro Watanabe)

Writers:

Ellen Moore (additional dialogue), Shin'ichirô Watanabe (as Shinichiro Watanabe)

Stars:

James Arnold Taylor, Carrie-Anne Moss, Terrence 'T.C.' Carson

Cast

Credited 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)
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Mugihito	...	Clarence (voice)
Masane Tsukayama	...	Ash (voice)
Hiromi Tsuru	...	Trinity (voice)
Ryûnosuke Ôbayashi	...	Client (voice) (as Ryunosuke Ohbayashi)

Storyline

Ash, a private detective, is quite frankly sick of his job. It's not as adventurous as he thought it was and on top of that both his fridge and bank account are empty. When the phone rings, Ash promises to his cat Dinah he will quit the business forever if this is yet another husband who wants his wife shadowed. But the caller is quite a different gentleman. He wants Ash to look for a computer hacker called Trinity. The caller refuses to say his name, but Ash is quickly persuaded to take on the job when he sees his recently updated bank account balance. When he starts investigating, Ash finds something strange. He is not the first detective looking for the hacker.

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Plot Keywords:

detective | cat | eye test | neo noir | truth | 

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Genres:

Drama | Fantasy | Animation | Sci-Fi | Short

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Did You Know?

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.

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Quotes

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

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Connections

Edited into The Animatrix (2003)

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Soundtracks

UNDER THE GUN
Written by Ramin Sakurai, Kirin Shahani, Geri Soriano Lightwood, Rick Torres
Performed by Supreme Beings of Leisure
Courtesy of Palm Pictures LLC

User Reviews

Old Fashion mystery is back....

Wow, its been quite a while since I've watched anything so mysterious in the way it is portrayed.

A Detective Story uses old fashioned black and white images to portray a private investigator who dresses in an old fashioned trench coat and hat. The theme of this animation is reminiscent of that of Sam Spayed which was briefly mentioned by Ash.

Sick of spying on cheating house wives because of his clients, Ash was offered a chance to track down a "computer hacker" which he thought was a worthwhile chance for a four figure sum he could not turn down and the rest is history.

The ending was a little bit bland but still okay. For those out there who like old fashion stories this is the one for you.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

April 2003 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Animatrix: A Detective Story

Company Credits

Production Co:

Studio 4°C, Warner Bros.

Technical Specs

Color:

Black and White