Film review: Liam Neeson’s overall performance is a solid addition to the Marlowe canon
Liam Neeson as Philip Marlowe
★★★☆☆
Philip Marlowe is the most accomplished private eye in movie history, with Humphrey Bogart’s turn in The Big Sleep (1946), following on from his portrayal of Sam Spade in The Maltese Falcon (1941), setting the standard for every shamus who followed.
Marlowe (15A) is adapted from John Banville’s novel , which portrayed Raymond Chandler’s hero as an older and slightly wiser PI — which, in theory, makes Liam Neeson an ideal piece of casting as the grubby knight errant.
Commissioned by Clare Cavendish (Diane Kruger) to discover the whereabouts of her lover, Nico Peterson (Francois Arnaud), the world-weary Marlowe creaks into action, only to discover that Nico has been bumped off some days previously. Not true, says Clare, who spotted Nico on the street only the day before, and soon Marlowe is up to his oxters in double-crosses, femmes fatales and ‘the old Sir Lancelot bullshit’ as he cris-crosses Los Angeles in search of truth and justice.
Adapted by William Monahan and Neil Jordan, with Jordan directing, is too slowly paced to qualify as a thriller — but then, Jordan seems to be more interested in sketching a cinematic love letter to Old Hollywood glamour in general, and the character of Marlowe in particular.
Neeson isn’t quick enough with his comebacks to do justice to an admittedly wordy script but the atmosphere and tone capture the era superbly, and there’s a deliciously spiky turn from Jessica Lange, a noir veteran playing a movie star of Silent Era vintage.
It’s by no means a classic, but Neeson’s overall performance, in a mature role that allows him to refuse to bed blondes half his age, is a solid addition to the Marlowe canon.
(cinema release / Sky Cinema)
