User reviews

In regards to Corey Montieth: I saw that the other review focused almost entirely on Montieth's performance. In truth, he plays a supporting role without much screen time (although it is an important role). He does an adequate job, but I was not blown away by his performance. I will say that he was completely unrecognizable to me, which is a positive thing.

In regards to David Morse: A underrated actor who I have always appreciated. He carries the burden of the film on his shoulders and makes it look easy. Morse has a way of being menacing and is absolutely believable as a cop approaching retirement age who can still scare people shitless.

The movie as a whole: A mixed bag. Rather than being the gritty character study that it wants to be, it feels like a ripoff of some other superior gritty character study. The dialogue is just barely off the mark, but enough so that it feels slightly odd. Some plot points are naggingly unrealistic (For example, the idea that Morse's partner could be unaware of a robbery/rape that occurred the previous night. Believe me every cop in the city would be aware). The camera-work and direction are competent but bland. Morse raises my score from a 4 to a 6.

McCanick follows a darkly twisted Philly detective throughout one day as he tries to find a recently paroled ex con. This film stars David Morse in another Philadelphia based role and the late Cory Monteith, both of which give very seasoned performances that really elevate this film. To start off, the story here, while it is entertaining, is very hard to follow. It is telling two stories simultaneously, one through flashbacks, the other through present day. While this has worked for films of this sort in the past, McCanick misses its mark here regarding a coherent plot. However, as a character piece, this film is absolutely terrific . David Morse as McCanick is very realistic and true to his performance. Morse is especially great in delivering a spot on Philly accent and making us truly believe that this man is a complete psychopath. Another actor in need of much praise here is Cory Monteith. Despite passing away rather recently, this film is bittersweet in a sense. The man proved he was capable of delivering raw and intense emotions, it is a shame we will not be able to see Monteith truly evolve and grow as an actor. Mike Vogel, another Philly native, gives a rather lackluster performance in a bare bones type of role. It isn't necessarily Vogel's fault that his character was underwritten, but he could have at least spiced it up a bit on his own. The director Josh C. Waller has created a great atmosphere for Philadelphia along with delivering a very tasteful character study but he fails to deliver in telling a story that remains coherent and is paced right. In the glimpses of the story that we do get, it is broken information, some of which is said and then never touched upon again. This happens quite often in this film. Despite a bare bones and jumbled story, the film works as a gritty character study of an obsessive cop. If only the story was elaborated on more or cut out all together and went the Bad Lieutenant route, either way there is room for improvement. The only thing that I did not like in this film was the ending. Without giving away any spoilers, all I'll say is it is underwhelming. Overall, I feel Waller has a safe place for future films of this sort. He directs with confidence, even if the script is a bit flat, he makes it work. The real people to watch in this film though are both Morse and Monteith. These two actors really give two amazing performances that are quite impressive. Morse especially carries this movie on his shoulders and runs with it, he's very very good in this film. Anyone who is a crime film buff, you'll really enjoy this one. It's a really raw and gritty thriller with a lot to offer.

David Morse is a messed up bad ass cop and self declaimed bad father with a shady character in this film, which is one of those which keeps you in the dark, and slowly unravels what it's all about. Slowly we learn both what is supposed to have happened, and what really has been happening, and who you are to trust. this is no action film, but a low character story.

David Morse and Corey Monteith is both playing well in this low budget independent film, which is filmed OK technically, but the storytelling, as in the manuscript doesn't help too much along the way in a film which could have been so much better with a more strict storytelling.

It's gloomy, dark and sad story, with a great gloomy soundtrack well suited for the story. It takes time for the story to unveil and take a grip on you, and when it does, it's almost to late. The film is a character study of a cop losing grip. Such a pity the story doesn't manage to build up the story in a better manner. It comes out an OK film, rated mediocre. a pity, since the acting work put into it deserves much more.

In Philadelphia, on the day of the fifty-ninth anniversary of Detective Eugene 'Mack' McCanick (David Morse), he learns that Simon Weeks (Cory Monteith) has been released. Captain Jerry Quinn (Ciarán Hinds) asks Mack to forget Simon Weeks, but Mack lures his partner Floyd Intrator (Mike Vogel) to chase Weeks with tragic consequences. In flashbacks, the relationship between Mack and Weeks is disclosed.

"McCanick" is a crime-drama with a messy story. The good thing is to see the underrated David Morse in a lead role and the young and promising Cory Monteith in his last work. Unfortunately the screenplay is not clear and the viewer ends the film without understanding the reason of the hatred of Mack for Weeks. The conclusion is also deceptive. My vote is three.

Title (Brazil): "Obsessão Perigosa" ("Dangerous Obsession")

Wow, what a rollercoaster, but one you ride after eating, so it makes you feel kinda sick, kinda bad...

McCanick (2013) is a wrong movie. It's all wrong since the beginning. All that keeps us pushing foward towards the end is the question: "what's his problem with Simon Weeks?"; and the answer is sour, bad and bland, mediocre at its best.

What I felt is that they went for a great idea of a plot, but couldn't make it happen right. It goes all shallow and unexplained until the very end, which, when it happens, just leaves you wondering why couldn't you just skip until the end and saved yourself the trouble.

The acting is OK, which keeps you going, but everything falls flat. Nothing to see here.

I have always enjoyed the work of David Morse, he's right up there, in my opinion, with Gene Hackman, Ciaran Hinds and a bunch of other character actors, who never disappoint. And Mr. Morse did NOT disappoint in this movie either. What DID disappoint was a disjointed script. It's also unfortunate this was the last film Corey Monteith was in before his untimely death. I had an okay idea of what this was supposed to be about, but that was only after reading RogerEbert.com's review, and IMDB's description. I even Googled and clicked on a couple of other "reviews," all of which rated this one low, and with good reason. It was convoluted and messy. I would like my 1-hr and 36-mins back please.

Fantasy story about a bad cop.

Unrealistic plot, with extreme lack of knowledge of police procedures and investigations.

Skip it.

The cast was good the story was good the acting was great but the movie was crap. The story was not executed good and also poor direction. The manhunt part of the does not happen in the movie until the ending of the movie. The character McCanick who is played by David Morse who did a great job but i just did not care for him. And his partner who he was a jerk to is not in the whole movie which they make him a big name character. And cory monteith was not int he whole movie which i know he died during the almost during the ending of filming the movie but they try to make him be a bad guy in the movie honestly McCanick was a bad guy. And the ending ruins the movie with a stupid cliffhanger ending. Don't watch this movie 1 out of 10 horrible movie.

This was yet another interesting indie film I was able to learn about through Netflix. It is a darkly moody story which requires paying close attention. As I watched this movie, I felt myself becoming more and more saddened and angry as the realization hit me that Cory Monteith possessed far more talent than he was ever called upon to demonstrate in Glee and this would be the last of his roles for eternity. Here was a young man already capable of holding his own with a seasoned actor like David Morse and obviously capable of becoming even better and better at his craft as time progressed. What a sad, sad waste of a young life.

I chose to see this movie (at TIFF 2013)for three reasons; David Morse, the brief synopsis in the TIFF guide and, finally, to see what Corey Monteith was capable of doing, outside of Glee.

This is a low budget film with a a deceptively simple story and I was only expecting to be mildly entertained. BIG MISTAKE!!!

Corey Monteith can ACT. Since I have never seen him do anything other than play a shy highschool football player with musical leanings.... I was completely blown away by his portrayal in this film. If I were to compare the difference between my expectations based on his Glee persona and his performance in this role, to any other actor with a similar, abrupt growth spurt of acting chops, it would have to be what Heath Ledger accomplished in The Dark Knight Returns. To be honest, I never would have expected this performance from him.

The movie itself is OK and it has a solid cast but Corey's was definitely the difference in the film. It makes you wonder what we might have seen from him in the years to come if only..........

I was amazed at the negative reviews of this film. I simply bawled.

David Morse acted superbly the plight of a man who is coming to know who he is and what he is capable of given certain circumstances. Only a man of conscience could react the way the lead character did in this film.

This is a psychological drama/thriller that keeps one guessing till the end and reveals the tragedy of the human condition with great poignancy.

Perhaps the secret that the lead was dealing with was concealed in a rather confusing fashion and made it hard to follow along but it is a ploy often used in the movies and doesn't take away from the core theme of the story. I cannot explain the core theme without giving away too much so I will just admonish viewers to take the time to watch this almost masterpiece of psychology if they have lived a little and are honest.

The hallmark of a really good performance is that you don't even realize who the actor is. The ability to transform and completely change who you are to create a character is a rare talent... Cory pulls that off in this movie. Let's be honest, no one is seeing this movie because they're a fan of police drama's. There are thousands of those out there and yes, those are better told than this one. You're interested in this movie as a curious last look at Cory's career to see what his final piece of work was. Well let me tell you right now, this is something special. He devoted himself to this character. He is so far into it that even when his face takes up 90% of the screen you'll be second guessing if it's Cory or not. He dived into this character completely and if this is to go in the history books as his final film, it's a perfect film to hold that title. It proves that he had fantastic potential to pull out amazing performances, sadly we won't see any more after this. It's a must see for any fan of Cory, you owe it to yourself to see him at his prime.