NEW YORK -- This latest effort from filmmaker-actor Edward Burns, like so many of the predecessors in its genre, raises the question of whether there have ever been any private investigators with happy personal lives. A dark-tinged portrait of a morose, down-on-his-luck private eye and his equally forlorn client, "Looking for Kitty" is a downbeat experience that lacks the warmth and humor of "The Brothers McMullen", the debut that put its director on the map. Like Burns' last effort, "Ash Wednesday", the film is likely to prove too off-putting for mainstream audiences. It recently received its premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival -- wholly appropriate as much of the film takes place in the same downtown environs.
While not a versatile actor, Burns is an engaging and likable screen presence, though this is not particularly evident in his recessive performance as Jack Stanton, a widower who has retreated into an emotional shell. Unable to pay the rent, he begs for an assignment from a former employer (Peter Gerety), who informs Jack that the world of private investigation is now far more about online research than tailing suspects. But he finally hands him a case involving Abe Fiannico (David Krumholtz), a sad sack high school baseball coach from upstate New York whose wife has left him, apparently for a British rock star named, ironically enough, Ron Stewart (Max Baker).
Equally colorless is the film's visual depiction of Manhattan as a bleak, wintry, dark-gray landscape all too closely mirroring the characters' emotional desolation.
LOOKING FOR KITTY
Marlboro Road Gang Prods.
Credits: Director-screenwriter: Edward Burns
Producers: Edward Burns, Aaron Lubin, Margot Bridger
Co-producers: Vebe Borge, Mark Kassen
Associate producers: Ben Cheah, Steve Weisberg
Director of photography: William Rexer II
Film editor: Sarah Flack
Music: Robert Gary, PT Walkley
Sound designer: Ben Cheah
Costume designer: Johanna Argan
Cast:
Jack Stanton: Edward Burns
Abe Fiannico: David Krumholtz
Ron Stewart: Max Baker
Ms. Petracelli: Connie Britton
KK: Kevin Kash
Guy Borne: Chris Parnell
Maggie: Elizabeth Regan
Julie: Rachel Dratch
No MPAA rating
Running time -- 105 minutes...
While not a versatile actor, Burns is an engaging and likable screen presence, though this is not particularly evident in his recessive performance as Jack Stanton, a widower who has retreated into an emotional shell. Unable to pay the rent, he begs for an assignment from a former employer (Peter Gerety), who informs Jack that the world of private investigation is now far more about online research than tailing suspects. But he finally hands him a case involving Abe Fiannico (David Krumholtz), a sad sack high school baseball coach from upstate New York whose wife has left him, apparently for a British rock star named, ironically enough, Ron Stewart (Max Baker).
Equally colorless is the film's visual depiction of Manhattan as a bleak, wintry, dark-gray landscape all too closely mirroring the characters' emotional desolation.
LOOKING FOR KITTY
Marlboro Road Gang Prods.
Credits: Director-screenwriter: Edward Burns
Producers: Edward Burns, Aaron Lubin, Margot Bridger
Co-producers: Vebe Borge, Mark Kassen
Associate producers: Ben Cheah, Steve Weisberg
Director of photography: William Rexer II
Film editor: Sarah Flack
Music: Robert Gary, PT Walkley
Sound designer: Ben Cheah
Costume designer: Johanna Argan
Cast:
Jack Stanton: Edward Burns
Abe Fiannico: David Krumholtz
Ron Stewart: Max Baker
Ms. Petracelli: Connie Britton
KK: Kevin Kash
Guy Borne: Chris Parnell
Maggie: Elizabeth Regan
Julie: Rachel Dratch
No MPAA rating
Running time -- 105 minutes...
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