Tote Engel lügen nicht

If now Oscar-winner Tommy Lee Jones were allowed to delete all memory of one of his previous films, no doubt he would choose this incredible mess of a thriller to cast into oblivion. He plays a private dick who is hired by a rich husband to settle some matters with his ex-wife, who is holding some jewelry of his in her possession. Only that the woman apparently has been dead for a decade! He takes the case thinking of making easy money with a crackpot client, but the woman appears to be alive and well and even very seductive (Virginia Madsen, no less), all qualities painfully lacking in the film, which is slow, poorly acted (evidence of a great lack of enthusiasm on the side of Tommy and par for the course for Madsen)and disconcertingly ambiguous, undecided between a solid thriller of unexpected final twists (which it has not) and a run of the mill ghost-story that had traded horror for sensuality. Really dreadful.

Q: What do you get if you put a naturaly gifted actress with powerful screen presence, together centre stage with an actor who exudes raw, truthful bearing? A: An extremely interesting and tantilising mind game. Sadly, too few films, since the 1940's, allow both the male & female leads to both shine absolutely equaly, profiting the end result. The culmination of Jones & Madsen's performances is a retro work of art. The casting & editing is vibrant, but this narrative should have been directed by an Art House impresario, because lost in mainstream tv it becomes merely a taxing jigsaw.

PLOT: The two titles are part of the puzzle aspect to this film. For 'Gotham', read as - Goth-ham or Gothic 'ham', as in a noir spoof, or if you equate Gotham with Batman, then evolve this to the catchphrase 'the dynamic duo' and you have the Madsen & Jones chemistry. For 'The Dead Can't Lie', read as - why tell us, unless they can, therefore is this a single or double bluff? These are clues, but they could be a 'red herring'. It's a dark tale about lies within lies and whether there is any point in unraveling them. There are repeated motifs in the dialogue that are inconsistant, so it probably isnt possible to assert the truth, since each character is potentially lieing! Even the music is designed to deliberately mislead!

RATEING: 7/10 as a film, but 9/10 as a brain teaser.

WHO should watch this film?: Adults only, because of content. Women will enjoy the exuberantly feminine power of Madsen, whereas men will enjoy looking at it in action! Watch out for the 'Rubik's Cube', as it's a barometer of Jones' confusion and ours! If you like doing puzzles and can cope if you dont solve them, you will love & watch this film repeatedly.

How do you stop your dead wife from harassing you? Hire a good detective who can tell her to stop. Tommy Lees Jones portrays a down on his luck gumshoe is approached by a man who is being followed by his dead wife. Jones figures if the man is crazy enough to offer his money, he's just crazy enough to help him. Is she dead? Check the refrigerator, take a cruise but stay out of the church. This made-for-tv film keeps you going, wondering just who is seeing things. Don't close your eyes for too long or you just might miss something. If you like a good mystery, this one is a sleeper-keeper. You might have to look on the back shelf of the video store to find it but however it's worth the search. A great movie for a rainy weekend afternoon.

I thought the storyline was provocative, and the writing was good but not superlative (Kevin Jarre is a wonderful writer, and I'm willing to bet the script would have been lots better if the director had left it alone.) Tommy Lee Jones was fantastic, as usual- his leading lady was a beautiful woman but a mediocre actress. Liked the Russian Orthodox priest, too; a fun addition. Really liked the lady singer doing 'Where Or When' in a club where the couple met. 'Danny Boy' was lovely, as well, as was the Latin piece the leading lady danced on the roof to. Fun movie to critique and "improve" in your mind as you're watching it. the soap opera crowd would probably love it without reservation. The meticulous might very well cringe. All and all very entertaining.

I really enjoy this quirky, sensual film, but even after several viewings, I am still a bit confused about the plot. It's not one of those bizarre films where you shake your head and say "what?", but rather one that keeps you going up and down different alleyways. Tommy Lee Jones is very sexy and perfectly cast as the rough and tumble private eye hired to get a man's dead wife off his trail. But, is the wife really dead? What is fantasy and what is reality? Virginia Madsen is drop dead gorgeous, no pun intended. She and Tommy Lee Jones have a very hot sexual chemistry between them. This is the only movie with the formidable Mr. Jones that I have seen him engaged in a passionate, nude love scene. This alone is worth renting the movie. It's not great, but it's very old-fashioned, gritty film noir, and extremely sexy, and definitely not predictable.