Review of Homicide: The Movie (2000) by Alex S — 28 Sep 2009

How many times have you found yourself saying "I really wish I could watch Joe Mantegna blow up a toy train store," only to be disappointed in your options because you are not Joe Mantegna? Well, there's good news and bad news here because while that does in fact happen here, you may still feel disappointed once those end credits start rolling.

What starts out as your standard police drama with Mamet dialogue (which is always exceptional) kind of shifts completely out of the lane it was in and ends up becoming a story about underground activists targeting anti-Semites.

Through it all, Mantegna's wrestling with his identity never takes a back seat and makes for some powerful scenes (the much-hyped phone call scene is totally worthy of all the praise heaped upon it) and some that are just weird (the sheer coincidences building the second half from the power of this secret group to the pigeons can really sway your enjoyment of this one - I think I was swayed into wondering why William H.

Macy and Ving Rhames didn't get more lines). It's no doubt a powerful film that will make all who watch it think about their own perceptions but it still feels unbalanced and never really reaches the greatness that Mamet is capable of.