Suffering from memory loss following a car accident, Roy Freeman is a former police detective who follows up on an old murder case he investigated. Believing there is a possibility that he and his ex-partner had the wrong man convicted, and is facing the death penalty. It's not made easy by the fact that he can't remember the case. As he tries to piece together evidence as to what truly happened he finds himself uncovering dark and disturbing secrets about his past. Is it sometimes better to let sleeping dogs lie?
It wouldn't be less than generous to say that this noirish thriller from Adam Cooper, who cuts his teeth here with his directorial debut, covers old familiar ground. There's most definitely a whiff of the mind-bending thrillers Memento and The Number 23. Relying on many of the common tropes, we have Russell Crowe's damaged protagonist attempting to dig into his past, and the murder of Marton Csoka's sleazy college professor. It's all here, sex, greed replete with a relatively brief voice-over from one of the dead supporting characters, as he reads through a book he had written, where he chronicles events that led to the professor's death. It's as if Cooper is ticking off as many boxes as he can.
Technically Cooper is very proficient in terms of the direction, and pacing it never feels lethargic. Although in terms of the stakes, It's difficult to truly become emotionally invested in Pacharo Mzembe's Issac Samuel who is facing execution as he is given very little screen time, making it hard to sympathize with him and his predicament. The plot also has an air of predictability about it, and given the movie's title, you pretty much know from the start that Crowe's retired detective is going to get more than he bargained for. It's nowhere near as clever as it attempts to be, with a final twist in its denouement that fails to deliver the sort of sucker punch that Cooper was undoubtedly aiming for. While it raises more questions than it awnsers due to an all too gaping plot hole.
Crowe as ever gives it his all and is a magnetic presence, managing to elevate proceedings, and it does help that he's abetted by a strong supporting cast which besides Marton Csokas includes Tommy Flannagan and Harry Greenwood. This is more than can be said for Karen Gillen, who fails to completely convince, as the femme fatale of the piece.
The movie eventually proceeds to unravel in its final act, with Cooper's attempt to gradually wrap up the movie's plot feeling awkward and clumsy. Leading to its underwhelming climax. Sleeping Dogs is by no means the worst movie of Crowe's career, but still, needless to say, It's not one of his best either, and wouldn't be deserving of being mentioned in the same sentence as his better work which includes LA Confidential or A Beautiful Mind. It's an attempt at a contemporary neo-noir, from a writer and director whose lofty ambitions exceed his mediocre talent, and doesn't quite deliver on what it promises.
It wouldn't be less than generous to say that this noirish thriller from Adam Cooper, who cuts his teeth here with his directorial debut, covers old familiar ground. There's most definitely a whiff of the mind-bending thrillers Memento and The Number 23. Relying on many of the common tropes, we have Russell Crowe's damaged protagonist attempting to dig into his past, and the murder of Marton Csoka's sleazy college professor. It's all here, sex, greed replete with a relatively brief voice-over from one of the dead supporting characters, as he reads through a book he had written, where he chronicles events that led to the professor's death. It's as if Cooper is ticking off as many boxes as he can.
Technically Cooper is very proficient in terms of the direction, and pacing it never feels lethargic. Although in terms of the stakes, It's difficult to truly become emotionally invested in Pacharo Mzembe's Issac Samuel who is facing execution as he is given very little screen time, making it hard to sympathize with him and his predicament. The plot also has an air of predictability about it, and given the movie's title, you pretty much know from the start that Crowe's retired detective is going to get more than he bargained for. It's nowhere near as clever as it attempts to be, with a final twist in its denouement that fails to deliver the sort of sucker punch that Cooper was undoubtedly aiming for. While it raises more questions than it awnsers due to an all too gaping plot hole.
Crowe as ever gives it his all and is a magnetic presence, managing to elevate proceedings, and it does help that he's abetted by a strong supporting cast which besides Marton Csokas includes Tommy Flannagan and Harry Greenwood. This is more than can be said for Karen Gillen, who fails to completely convince, as the femme fatale of the piece.
The movie eventually proceeds to unravel in its final act, with Cooper's attempt to gradually wrap up the movie's plot feeling awkward and clumsy. Leading to its underwhelming climax. Sleeping Dogs is by no means the worst movie of Crowe's career, but still, needless to say, It's not one of his best either, and wouldn't be deserving of being mentioned in the same sentence as his better work which includes LA Confidential or A Beautiful Mind. It's an attempt at a contemporary neo-noir, from a writer and director whose lofty ambitions exceed his mediocre talent, and doesn't quite deliver on what it promises.