Watching the Detectives (2007)

Neil (Cillian Murphy) works in a vintage video store and wishes his life could be as exciting as the movies he watches night and day. Enter Violet (Lucy Liu), a real-life femme fatale who brings enough adventure into Neil's world to make him think he has suddenly stepped into one of his favorite movies. Being with Violet might just turn out to be a lot of fun - if he lives through it.

Don't Bother

Don't waste your money. Liu is completely miscast and ridiculously dressed. Femme fatale she is not. Murphy apparently was put into this film as a tester for his comedic ability/kooky romantic leading man ability. Both are sadly tested in a strange script/plot which could've been quite interesting. It took me three tries (and I am an avid Murphy fan) to watch the whole film. Much of the dialogue is awkward and the situations more bizarre than "zany", although the supporting cast seemed comfortable and more realistic. One scene in particular made me chuckle involving the film "geeks" knowing just when a movie is returned by how much tape has been wound and not rewound. I felt the same way. September 5, 2008

Be kind. Rewind and buy Cary Grant.

I understand why this film was never widely distributed. How it made it into production is amazing to begin with, not to mention attracting such talents as Murphy, Liu, and Burns.

The beginning hooks you like an old Cary Grant/Katherine Hepburn flick, but it doesn't reel you in. We get much more background on Neil than we ever do on Violet and this is very unsatisfying. Their interchanges are more interesting than enlightening and do little to reveal much about what's really going on inside the "bored", albeit whacko, lead chick's brain.

Murphy gives a great performance as a small-time video store owner (Neil) engrossed in classic flicks, but we never see the "inside" of Violet (Liu), a real-life femme fatale who wanders into his store one day. And we don't know if Neil ever sees the inside of Violet.

Many scenes drag, do not move the characters along, or are not really pertinent to the plot. Character arcs are virtually nonexistent. If you see the movie once and try telling the story to someone, you'll find it difficult to do so.

Bottom line - this could have been a really good movie. If Violet had, in fact, been a detective or an FBI agent and Neil had somehow become involved in her mission, we're talking future classic here. We're talking Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn. August 21, 2008

Charming, in a predictable but nicely done way

The basic premise: Neil (Cillian Murphy) owns a small independent video store and lives passively in a world of make believe movies. Violet (Lucy Liu) lives a life of adventure. She would rather do than watch. She stages real life scenarios of situations Neil can hardly imagine. Most of her escapades are well thought out (My favorite being the picnic scene) and leave both the viewer and Neil wondering just what's going on and how things will turn out.

I wish we'd gotten more background story on Violet, maybe a little input on why she puts the moves on this particular guy, but it's thoughts like that ... film criticism ... that will spoil the fun.

Don't go in expecting too much unless you are a Lucy Liu fan. It's not a mature or edgy film. There's not much to it except a delightful 90 minutes spent adoring Violet. Nothing wrong with that.

Lucy Liu gets to wear all these cute outfits, many are low cut but not unduly provocative. The wardrobe department should get some props here. She looks great. She gets to act all femme fatale (though this film is inappropriately labeled 'noir') as she pulls prank after prank in an effort to deal with her "rare, exotic disease."

We get the quirky Liu here, not the tough one. She looks like a college student most of the time, except for the close-ups. Her body language and delivery are free spirited and charming in a predictable but nicely done way. From standing pigeon-toed to sniffing her armpit for odor, she's as cute as a button. I don't imagine the film makers were shooting for anything beyond that. July 24, 2008

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