Movie Review: Watching the Detectives

Have you ever seen a movie that you really liked, despite knowing that it is not really a good film? I am sure you have. You watch a movie, and there is something about it, the characters, setting, plot, something that just draws you in, holds your attention, and makes you love it; a movie that holds you in its grasp for its entire running time, during which it can do no wrong. For me, Watching the Detectives is one of those movies. That is not to say it is one of my all-time favorites, or will be appearing on any top lists anytime soon, but there is something about that struck a chord in my.

Cillian Murphy stars as Neil. Neil is a movie enthusiast who runs his own video rental shop, serving a niche audience, specializing in old, classic, and B movies. He spends his days hanging around the shop discussing/arguing about movies with his friends. His business is slow, but he makes do. While his love is clearly with movies, which he watches day and night, often acting out scenes with his friends, he does have a life outside of the shop. Unfortunately, that life involves Denise, his soon to be ex-girlfriend who is not nearly as supportive as the women in the films he watches.

One day, a slow one at the shop, a woman named Violet (Lucy Liu) wanders in looking for a movie to rent. Neil seems to be immediately taken with the odd woman, and when she asks him out, he jumps at the opportunity.

Their initial encounters are strange affairs as Violet exhibits some seriously quirky personality traits. The first among them is a condition she calls "bore-ophobia." Basically, she believes in doing rather than watching, and proceeds to involve Neil in these "adventures."

To truly give into the plot would risk giving entirely too much away. I know saying that is something of a cliche, but don't you prefer to discover the surprises on your own? This is a movie that floats along, not really doing much other than making you a fly on the all of the lives of Neil and Violet as their relationship develops.

The relationship is quite interesting, buoyed by the considerable chemistry between Murphy and Liu. Liu's Violet could be equated to the shark in Jaws, coming and going as she pleases, leaving chaos in her wake, making one man's pursuit of her all the more in satiable. The wilder and crazier the adventures Violet instigates, the more Neil chases after her.

I cannot quite put my finger on why I like this movie as much as I do, although I suspect it is my identification with Neil, what with his love for movies and, at least initially, sedentary life. Add to that the thought of having this mysterious force of nature come soaring through his life and you have a combination that is hard to ignore.

As strong as the Neil/Violet dynamic is, and it is considerable, it is pretty much all the movie has. The plot, such as it is, runs out of steam and there is no direction as the climax is reached. It ends on a good personal note, but a very weak plot note. It is the sort of movie that does not go anywhere, there is no development of plot. As an extension of the lack of genuine plot, the secondary characters do not really do anything of much importance.

Still, these problems did not really bother me. Cillian Murphy is the perfect everyman for the movie fan to identify with, and Lucy Liu is such an adorably charismatic presence that you cannot help but be drawn to her. Their combined strength at the core of this film is fantastic and held my attention all the way through.

Watching the Detectives was written and directed by Paul Soter who, I was surprised to discover, is a member of the Broken Lizard comedy troupe. You know, those guys who made Super Troopers, Club Dread, and Beerfest. I was surprised because this film is quite a ways away from the slapstick, sophomoric tone of the Broken Lizard outings. This film displays a growth and maturity that films like Beerfest could never display. This is an impressive solo feature for Soter and I am interested to see what other projects he may develop separate from Broken Lizard.

Bottomline. In the end, I have to say that I loved this movie. I can think of plenty more movies that are way better than this, but somehow, someway Watching the Detectives cut through my defenses and captured my imagination in a way that a movie hasn't been able to do recently. I still cannot truly explain why, and likely never will. Let me come to an end by saying that you must give this film a shot, see if you aren't charmed the same way I am.

Highly Recommended.