Trouble Is My Business

Yeah, what a load of crap! Fooled me with a jargon of "Neo Noir". You don't have to be that stupid to use some saxophone soundtrack to tell people this film is a NOIR, NOIR, NOIR. The private eye does not have to be always in a jam, down and out in L.A. and couldn't afford the rent and got 30 days pay or out eviction notice.

Jesus, this film just looked so pathetically pretentious and ridiculous. More like adapted from a lousy comic book or a children's book. A horrible fantasy for the brain dead adults. Absurd screenplay, scenarios and plots. Nothing is right. A complete waste of time. Like watched a lousy poor staged play in a theater. Characters are all comic, over-the-top costumes and make up. A missing person case or several murder cases, who cares! Don't forget to pay your 2017 income tax and your property tax before the deadlines, they are more important than wasting your time and money to watch this stupid Neo Noir film.

It's such a long time since I've seen such poor acting. What promised to be a Sin City (esque) thriller turned into a wooden, awkward embarrassment. It may have been great after 10 minutes but I'd rather poke pencils into my eyes than have to endure any more.

I confess, I couldn't get all the way through this: porn-level acting, script and production values but with zero sex and nudity. That's quite a frustrating two hours, to be honest.

I checked it out because of it taking the title of a Raymond Chandler book of short stories - none of which are here used. Since the film is set in the same genre, in the same period, and very much in the same style, stealing the title could be seen as - at best - audacious, but less generously as outrageous cheek.

It's clear the creators were trying for something better, on a very small budget, and they should be applauded for that, but the end result just really isn't very good at all, with nothing new or interesting to add to an already very well-explored territory.

If you are looking for Bogie, this is not it. As many have said, the dialogue and the acting is not exactly Oscar material. Still, the performances are solid, occasionally funny, and follows the threads and form of a true Noir.

There are moments when you cannot help but smile at the dialog (or think to yourself - did the screenwriter ever read a Hammett, or Chandler, or heck even Spillane) and chuckle at the acting, but it does draw one into the story, which is sold. You might see some of it coming, and there are lots of clues, but a couple of the twists were well done indeed.

For not having a studio behind it, it is worth an afternoon watch when there is nothing else on TV. Could it be better? Sure, but it could be a lot worse and production quality is as good as any of the B-rolls they released during the classic noir period.

Trouble is my Business is an intriguing thriller set in 1947 as PI Roland Drake gets drawn into the mysterious Montemar family's secrets, following meetings with two Montemar sisters, with some Russians and archaeology thrown in to the intriguing mix.

There are a few suspects to the crimes, with some clues a bit on the nose but I really enjoyed it. It's a fun homage to noir cinema, the makers obviously have a lot of love for this genre. I watched it in black and white which I think suits it better.