Detective

Tom Berenger is once again a great detective. Like his characters Michael Keegan (Someone To Watch Over Me), Harry Dobbs (Love @ Large), Clifford DeBose (A Murder of Crows), and Rem Macy (True Blue)- his wit, take-charge attitude, and Noble authority - combined with his personal side - give depth to what could have been a staid character. Most of the supporting cast were perfectly cast. I was pleased to see that the movie kept very closely to the book, except for Malcolm's turning atheist. Was even more pleased that Hallmark did not show gruesome close-ups like was shown in Tom Berenger's Eye See You. Mr. Berenger shines in Alex Haley's Detective. A great movie to watch and re-watch :)

Another Tom Berenger special, this time courtesy of Hallmark. For some reason they have two TV stars in supporting roles: Cybil Shepherd and Bruce Boxleitner.

There wasn't enough content to stretch to three hours, but it's three hours.

I believe the main story is the detective and his messy private life. Malcolm (Berenger) is an ex-priest, separated from his wife, and his detective girlfriend is a councilman's daughter.

However, we never find out about his life in the priesthood, any guilt he may have about that and shacking up with someone else while he's in marriage counseling, or any angst over the fact that his son is angry with him.

Instead he concentrates on the vicious serial killings in the LA area. I suppose Hailey made the character an ex-priest so he could recognize signs at the crime scenes from the Book of Revelations.

All this added up to not much. The serial killings were gross beyond belief as were the suspects. In the end, you really didn't care about any of it.

It took many hours to get through this predictable detective story. With a strong heavy weight cast, it still seems endless with many scenes that were just too long. Is this the writing? Directing? Or acting? Tom Berenger in the lead role as the detective out to solve the crimes, seemed to be going around in a daze, not sure what was happening around him. When he is faced with truths, his face doesn't change expression. I usually like this actor, but not in this. Cybill Shepherd wasted in a thankless role as the wife he left behind. Not much for her to do. Too bad. More of her could have made the story at least exciting. Annabeth Gish, just was bad casting. Not much going on there. One expression throughout the movie. No one cared. Veteran Charles Durning also wasted in a nothing role. Don't see much of him. Sean O'Bryan and David Atkinson, to this viewer turned in the most interesting and challenging roles. Good acting and energy sadly lacking from the others. But, please a four hour movie? It has to have something to hold interest. I welcomed the commercials just to get a break.

This movie took a pretty massive book and condensed it somewhat into about three hours of screen time. Condensing I get, but there are other problems: (1) The original book had a fairly straightforward set of flashbacks that really built the suspense for me. This made-for-TV movie rendered the entire plot as a sequential time line, dashing key elements of the original story's suspense. TV viewers can't handle flashbacks? Come on, give me a break! (2) In the movie, Cynthia Ernst, fellow detective of the title role, had not an ounce of the charisma, go-for-the-jugular dynamism and downright sex appeal of the book's character. Worse, she may as well have been dressed in a sweatshirt and stretch pants for most of the movie. Bad choice of actress, too? Maybe. (3) The sexual tension between the movie's Ernst character and Detective-Sergeant Ainslie, a major source of the suspense in the book, was all but undetectable in the movie. Put it down to a lack of chemistry between Tom Berenger and Annabeth Gish, I guess. (Not as bad as Bird On A Wire, but I'm just saying...) (4) The potential for suspense that should attend the discovery of a major public figure's involvement in a major crime, plus the tension of obtaining the final proof, was 99% wasted. That was how the book made my pulse pound! (5) The motivation for the major public figure's crime was revealed in the book, but not in the movie. Another opportunity wasted. ... On balance, Detective-Sergeant Ainslie's wife Karen was played by Cybill Shepherd, and I love watching her do anything.... :)

Being a Tom Berenger fan for many years, I purchased the DVD and enjoyed this "made from TV" movie a lot. Tom can play any role and was excellent as the conflicted man faced with ethical and personal problems. Scenes with Cybill Shepard and the marriage counselor rang true to me, as did those involving the priest-detective dilemma of this man's life. There was more to ponder in the story than just the murder mystery. The supporting cast, overall, was well chosen and the performances satisfying. This was one of those motion picture treatmentsof a novel which caused me to make plans to read Arthur Hailey's book. All in all, my impression of this movie is positive and I hope that you, the reader of this review, will give it a try.