Assassinato em Manhattan

I'm not sure that anyone could be charitable enough to say that this is a great movie. The writing is fairly trite, and any high-schooler with a C average could see the "twists" coming a mile away. But to fault Marlee Matlin for it (and I do realize that was done some time ago), and in such insulting terms? Unnecessary.

First, character actors do important work, so attempting to slander one by using the term is pointless. A low number of leading roles does not necessarily indicate a lack of success. Also, categorizing her as an amateur? An Academy Award for her first movie role ever (in 1986), then a number of years in standout *character* roles to a great deal of critical acclaim (ever heard of The West Wing?) - that certainly doesn't add up to a rookie career.

What was most insulting, though, was the "what a surprise" comment. Why focus on an actor's disability just because you don't care for them? Admittedly, Marlee Matlin would be unable to play a character without a disability - there's no way to hide deafness, or an inability to speak without a deaf "accent." But she is eloquent, expressive, and impossible to ignore in most any part. Uninformed, prejudiced comments can't take that away from her.

Detective Tom Chaney (Jeff Fahey) is a lonely man, having a new partner, the gay Detective Rod Lambeau (Carl Marotte). They are investigating two similar murders in Manhattan, and their main suspect is the successful prosecutor Katy Wesson (Marlee Matlin). During the investigations, Tom and Katy fall in love for each other. However, the lack of trust of Tom on Katty leads to a series of problems. The end of the story reveals many secrets. This film-noir is very reasonable, but something is missing in the story to be an excellent movie. The screenplay really need some improvement. Marlee Martin is very expressive and has a good performance. Jeff Fahey and Carl Marotte are also good as two colleagues who learn to respect each other. Anyway, it is a worthwhile entertainment and hooks the attention of the viewer. This is the second time that I watch this movie and I do not regret. The IMDB User Rating of 4.1 is unfair. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): `Assassinato em Manhattan' (`Murder in Manhattan')

It's hard for anyone, even Jeff Fahey, to carry an unskilled amateur like Marlee Matlin through a film. He tries, to his credit. Matlin is essentially a character actress who can (what a surprise) manage a "handicapped" character, but her essentially zero range and inability to hold anyone's attention should keep her out of major roles like this one. This is about the third movie she's ruined, and I for one am getting tired of it. Soon she'll b e like Ed Asner -- an early warning to "skip this film."

This one isn't awful, but it isn't worth watching unless there's absolutely nothing on anywhere else.

I found this film to be slightly suspenseful. The cast of Jeff Fahey, and Marlie Matlin carried the film. I felt the rest of the cast overdid their parts in an effort to make the film appear better than it was. I viewed this film on Canadian Superchannel at 12:00 Midnight. At this time it would be fair to say it had little if any challenges to overcome to be the best program to watch. If not for the two previously mentioned actors, I would probably rate this film a "4".

When Justice Fails is about a couple of cops that track down a kinky murderer. The movie runs pretty smoothly from start to finish and has some good acting. Maitlin plays a troubled prosecutor that cop Fahey falls for. No reason to question that, she's great. Some high profile murders keep the cops running. Fahey's tough guy gay partner is a character unto himself in this film, a mild Dirty Harry type in the NYPD Blue kind of setting, but a good guy. Some good twists and turns as the cops suspect everyone in the film of being the murderer. Finally, Fahey figures out who it is and that brings us to the end of the film. If you want fast paced action, go somewhere else. If you want an OK crime drama, this is a good one.