Newspaper reporters compete with London police to solve a murder.Newspaper reporters compete with London police to solve a murder.Newspaper reporters compete with London police to solve a murder.
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Featured review
The plot and cast are solid but, like the delivery, nothing is particularly of note and is quite uninspiring
Paul Banner used to be an American reporter working in London. Recently he has gone freelance, leaving his paper so that he can focus more on chasing down facts and selling his stories once he gets them no more deadlines or misguided editors to divert his attention. When showgirl Nina Duke is murdered the press are all harrying the police for statements and facts but Banner hangs back and does a little work of his own to uncover the story. Nina, it transpires, was in jail for blackmail previously so it is possible that this was why she was killed however can Banner get the story that the police cannot?
The concept of a journalist investigating a crime is one that had been used well in the decade around this film and had produced some classic films along the way. Here we have a British attempt at cracking the genre, albeit with an American in the lead. It is a reasonably entertaining affair although it is understandable why it has barely amassed 20 votes on this site at the time of writing. The plot is solid enough but delivered without any sense of fun, pace or excitement. It is a very British way of doing it and it does well to set the period and has the trimmings of mundane British life (as opposed to the way newsroom fizzle and journalists talk in Hollywood versions). For most viewers the result will be to rather turn off rather stick with it just because it offers little for the casual viewer to be bothered with.
The cast are reasonably good and the material is solid enough but the delivery is pedestrian from Saunders. He doesn't have that much style and he doesn't add anything to the material, instead just seemingly happy to point a camera at the words. Carpenter is nothing that special but fills the role well. He isn't particularly charismatic but the delivery of the film isn't really there for him even if he had been. Corri and Court have obvious side-kick roles and they do them well enough for the film. Solon is what he needs to be while Reid is effective when called upon.
Overall then a fairly so-so film that doesn't offer much for the casual viewer but might just fill an hour for the undemanding viewer. The plot and cast are solid but, like the delivery, nothing is particularly of note and is quite uninspiring.
The concept of a journalist investigating a crime is one that had been used well in the decade around this film and had produced some classic films along the way. Here we have a British attempt at cracking the genre, albeit with an American in the lead. It is a reasonably entertaining affair although it is understandable why it has barely amassed 20 votes on this site at the time of writing. The plot is solid enough but delivered without any sense of fun, pace or excitement. It is a very British way of doing it and it does well to set the period and has the trimmings of mundane British life (as opposed to the way newsroom fizzle and journalists talk in Hollywood versions). For most viewers the result will be to rather turn off rather stick with it just because it offers little for the casual viewer to be bothered with.
The cast are reasonably good and the material is solid enough but the delivery is pedestrian from Saunders. He doesn't have that much style and he doesn't add anything to the material, instead just seemingly happy to point a camera at the words. Carpenter is nothing that special but fills the role well. He isn't particularly charismatic but the delivery of the film isn't really there for him even if he had been. Corri and Court have obvious side-kick roles and they do them well enough for the film. Solon is what he needs to be while Reid is effective when called upon.
Overall then a fairly so-so film that doesn't offer much for the casual viewer but might just fill an hour for the undemanding viewer. The plot and cast are solid but, like the delivery, nothing is particularly of note and is quite uninspiring.
helpful•83
- bob the moo
- Jan 20, 2007
Details
- Runtime1 hour 5 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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