This is the type of film noir Robert Mitchum and maybe Bogart loved to play in: convoluted story, intricate plot twists, and
"always a woman", as Jonah (Anders Bethelsen) mentally intones while dying, on his back in the rain, and reflecting on how it all started – an opener that's a great tribute to Billy Wilder's Sunset Boulevard (1950) with Joe (William Holden), dead in the swimming pool, his spirit entertaining similar thoughts and regrets.
Jonah is no screen-writer though: he's a crime-scene cop, a photographer, a husband with a wife and two kids, and is already deep into his mid-life crisis. Like many angst-ridden men of his age, he wants more. Well, along comes distraught Julia (Rebecca Hemse) who inadvertently smashes her car into the rear of his, with wife and kids onboard (what a technical triumph that smash-up was!). Julia lands in hospital, almost blind, remains in a coma for a short while and, when she wakes, she has little or no memory. Jonah, while visiting her, is mistaken for Sebastian (Nikolaj Lie Kaas), Julia's fiancée from Hanoi. Quick as a flash, Jonah dives into the deception because now – stupid sap – he thinks he's in love...
If you can accept a venture of that magnitude by an otherwise intelligent cop and father of two cute kiddies, then accept what follows as a clever take, perhaps even inversion, on the traditional femme fatale scenario. Sure, you already know he's dying but – who fired the shots? The answer, as in all excellent film noir, comes only in the few seconds that precede that deliciously dark opener. Before you get there, though, the plot has enough false trails, macabre cop humor and misdirection for you, to keep you glued to your seat. Moreover, like all good narratives, nothing is ever as it seems. In that regard, I'm reminded of the murder of luckless Lester (Kevin Spacey) in American Beauty (1999), ironically gunned down in his house, blissfully unaware of who did it and why.
Technically, the structure of the story and photography is brilliant, with the first twenty minutes giving the viewer a series of scenes and dialog in a seemingly discordant sequence. As the plot continues, the editing of sound and picture then assumes an ironic register and tone, as the dialog from one scene might play over a scene that opposes or deconstructs the other. It's a narrative technique that's quite effective and, best of all, it's not overdone. You'll know it when you see it.
The acting and direction are superb, no question. The special effects during fight scenes grittily and graphically hit this viewer between the eyes. Moreover, I think the editing displayed true mastery of narrative flow and cohesion. And the music score fits like a glove. Overall, this is one of the most satisfying and entertaining efforts in this genre for many years. But, is it believable? Well, given the propensity for most of humanity to do stupid things for love, I'd say that's a no-brainer.
Recommendation – run to your video store and get it. Nine out of ten (nobody ever gets ten from me).
December 4, 2013
