Review of The Singing Detective (2003) by Donna S — 16 Jul 2009

Good movie. A bit strange and I wouldn't recommend to someone unless he/she had a quirky taste in film and/or really enjoyed method performances.

It's essentially about Dan Dark (Robert Downey, Jr., in his only "method" performance besides his turn in 1992's Chaplin), a mystery author with a horrible case psoriasis is trying to recover in a hospital. Other than that, it's a bit difficult to describe the story, as it is very difficult to distinguish what is really happening from what is going on inside Dark's mind.

The whole cast is great. Robert Downey, Jr. tackles two roles: one as the tormented Dan Dark and the other as the detective in his book. One is very method. The other is more about pulling off a detective-liek accent. As can be expected as my favorite/the best actor, he pulls them both off brilliantly. Also putting in good effort is Katie Holmes, as one of the nurses who takes care of Dark. Robin Wright Penn, playing a prostitute as well as Dark's wife, also does excellent in the film. Carla Gugino, who plays Dark's mother in flashback sequences, also puts in a fine effort.

The performances are all fantastic, but the uncertainty of reality and fantasy is probably what makes this film more interesting than others. It's very demented: anything can happen. From impromptu renditions of "Let's Go to the Hop" and "Mr. Sandman" performed by the nurses and doctors at the hospital to two mobsters threatening to kill Dark, only to be thwarted by an alternate version of Dark, it's all here.

It's also very dark. As you watch the film, you see Dark's troubled life. Events from his book, aptly titled The Singing Detective, and past events in his life are reenacted in his mind. His mother (Carla Gugino, who never gets the good roles she deserves to play or the awards buzz she deserves) was a prostitute, and his wife (Robin Wright Penn, who technically plays multiple roles and pulls it off greatly), if we are to believe the images in his mind as reality, was unfaithful.

It all resolves well, but the film is definitely not for everyone. It's not a film I'd set aside time for, but I'll probably watch it again (if not buy it) sometime in the near future.

Recommended if you liek method performances (i.e. Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight, etc.) and/or quirky films (i.e. The Rocky Horror Picture Show, etc.).