Watching the Detectives (2007)

Director:

Paul Soter

Writer:

Paul Soter (written by)

Release Date:

11 September 2008 (Russia)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Tagline:

Sometimes love is stranger than fiction

Plot:

A film noir buff has his life turned on end by a femme fatale with a big adventure in mind.

Plot Keywords:

Film Geek | Underwater Scene | TV Commercial | Bathtub | Obscene Finger Gesture

Cast

Cillian Murphy	...	Neil
Lucy Liu	...	Violet
Jason Sudeikis	...	Jonathan
Michael Panes	...	Lucien
Callie Thorne	...	Marcia
Michael Yurchak	...	Buddy
Heather Burns	...	Denise
Mark Harelik	...	Detective Barloe
Ali Reza	...	Detective Lowenstein
Josh Pais	...	Andy
Brett Gelman	...	Glenn
Lonny Ross	...	Eager Customer
Paul Scheer	...	Annoying Customer
Richard Waddingham	...	Dennis - Bald Giant
J. T. O'Connor	...	Bald Creep

Runtime:

Poland:90 min (DVD version) | USA:91 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White (one scene) | Color

Certification:

Germany:6 | USA:Not Rated | Australia:M

Filming Locations:

Bayonne, New Jersey, USA

Company:

Plum Pictures

Trivia:

The title of the film is taken from a 1977 Elvis Costello song, from the album "My Aim Is True".

Goofs:

Incorrectly regarded as goofs: Violet says she doesn't have a driver's license, but she still manages to drive a car to Neil's house. However, she may have told Neil that she didn't have a driver's license just to see how he'd react, just like almost everything else she did to him.

Movie Connections:

Features How to Be Well Groomed (1948)

Soundtrack:

SPEAKING IN TONGUES

Very good little movie. Don't Know Why it didn't get a theatrical release.

Watching the Detectives - Neil (the very talented Cillian Murphy) owns a rundown video store that specializes in obscure B movies and film noir. His life consists of watching movies and chatting while his life goes nowhere. One day he meets an intense free-spirit girl named Violet (Lucy Liu) who plays pranks on him compulsively. The film contains many delightful nods to gumshoe film noir.

The plot is simple, and it seems like the sort of film that was made for film buffs, with more references than you can shake a stick at. It even feels like the sort of film I would make, and doubtless director/writer Peter Soter speaks from experience. The premise is enjoyable, as is the chemistry between Cillian Murphy, who is the show, and Lucy Liu. She perfectly plays the "crazy" girlfriend. She's like fire. Violet burns brightly, but often burns the gullible Nick with her pranks. Nick reminds me of me. And I love myself, and love Cillian Murphy, so this film really spoke to me.

The films message, which is to get out and enjoy life, might rub some film aficionados the wrong way for criticizing the wholeness of their lives, so their umbrage is understood, though unfortunate. I know fully well that screens are no substitute for real life and take every opportunity to do something else. They are a nice distraction when things are stagnant though.

It's just all in good fun, often very good fun. The shenanigans that Nick and Violet get into are just too much. I wholeheartedly enjoyed this film. Watching the Detectives is cleverly written, often very funny and quirky and idiosyncratic as hell. As this is the case, it's not for everyone but eons better than most of what has come out this year. I'm dismayed Watching the Detectives didn't get a full release. I suppose there aren't enough ironic film buffs out there and fans of Cillian Murphy, whose performance makes the movie. This and Breakfast on Pluto are a great set of companion films. Watching the Detectives gets an A-