Detective

As usual with many movies, the "Sound Engineers" on this film should never work again. There was "background music and sound effects" where none should be and it was much too loud covering up the actors.

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.... :)

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 reminds me of the reports I'd write in college that had to be ten pages on a subject I did not even remotely care about. The result was always 2 pages of substance with 8 pages of rambling crap that added absolutely no value to the final product. Was I a poor student? Yes, and I have the attention span of a hummingbird on crack so maybe I'm missing something here. It's 8:58pm where I'm at right now, and I swear this thing started six hours ago (no control over the TV). I glance up once in awhile to see another pointless conversation with some more cliché dialog. The actors aren't bad - they just have nowhere to go. It's a one hour episode of a cookie cutter crime show that's been stretched out like a Caramello. There should be an "end now" feature on modern cable systems that allows viewers to instantly turn any slow snore-fest into a disaster movie. Hit the blue button and in flashes an asteroid. Hit green and out comes a lava flow. Aliens on red. For now, I guess I'm stuck with the +/- option on my channel control - not that I have any control.

It is amazing the level of actors that stooped to act in this badly written movie. The plot idea has value, but 1. the dialogues were terrible, and 2. the audio production was horrible with background music almost drowning out the actors. Interesting concept, but be prepared to be disappointed.