Requiem for Murder

This movie had me baffled, but it wasn't necessarily the plot. Fine that they lead you to suspect various characters as the murderer. Fine that yet again a cop falls in love with his investigative subject. That's all been done before, and this time it's to a classical movie soundtrack. What threw me was the setting. The cars seemed too old & frumpy (even for cops) for it to be a recent movie and the clothes didn't provide any major clues. I figured it was 5 to 8 years old - and was shocked to find it a recent release! Worse yet, it's always dark and usually rainy regardless of the time of day. This is supposed to be Philadelphia, not Seattle, but even the city looks wrong. For one thing, the skyline is missing the major skyscrapers built over a decade ago - did they recycle old footage and film this thing on a lot somewhere? Entryways and security systems, the radio station, and even the restaurant all seem dated, giving this movie a rather clunky feel. Worse yet, the pacing is slow & plodding, the plot never really that surprising, and the characters painfully stereotyped. Furthermore, all the suspects look and dress alike. Was there a sale on brown haired guys with floppy haircuts? And could the detective please shave once in a while? What were they thinking with this movie? The whole project feels like it sat on a shelf for a decade like a bottle of dusty wine. Molly Ringwald looks good and the classical music sounds good, but that's about all the niceties I have to offer about this film.

These actors have been sadly miscast and misused. It seems like there are only 2 cops in Philadelphia, and they do everything without the benefit of cell-phones or beepers or warrants. The director is trying for a film noir-ish look but it ends up sort of silly. There are too many contrivances to be listed but the worst is when Molly Ringwald's squawky adolescent tones are worshipped as smooth and thrilling. The acting is high school flat. Ugh! For an equivalent story that is much better done, ditch this piece of crap and rent a video of "someone to watch over me."

I loved this film, the music from Milan Kymlicka is remarkable, so sweet and delectable. At my great surprise the sound-track that is excellent is not available. The subject of the film is interesting, actual and very romantic. The moral of the film is to show that love is essential in everyone life.

Okay, for the sake of full disclosure: I've been a Molly Ringwald fan ever since SIXTEEN CANDLES and THE BREAKFAST CLUB. There. I said it, and I'm unashamed!

REQUIEM FOR MURDER has Ms. Ringwald as Anne Winslow, a DJ for a classical music station in Philadelphia. Unbeknownst to her, someone is killing people while listening to her show. Police feel that Anne could be in grave danger herself.

Filled to bursting with possible suspects and boatloads of red herrings, REQUIEM holds its own as a murder mystery / thriller.

Obviously, Ms. Ringwald is stellar!

The finale, complete with 1812 Overture accompaniment, is magnificent!...

As thrillers go this one is rather run-of-the-mill, no worse than some, not as good as many. How you feel about a film like this depends in part on your disposition to its stars. I like Molly Ringwald, so I ended up liking this movie a little more than I probably would have otherwise.

Molly plays a DJ at a big-city classical music station. She has an admirer who sends her flowers there anonymously. That wouldn't be so bad, but he also has the nasty habit of poisoning people while his favorite DJ is playing music on the radio in the background. Since it looks like the killer might be coming after her, a police detective is watching out for her safety and wouldn't you know it, begins to fall for her.

Ringwald has that modulated, dulcet delivery of a classical music DJ down pretty good. This film is not nearly as enjoyable as some of those she made as John Hughes' leading young lady back in the 1980's, but it is more likeable than some of the other "adult" roles she had after that. Still, it's not particularly special or original, and only those who watch a lot of thrillers or are big fans of Ms. Ringwald will particularly want to see it.