It's a neo-noir detective drama set in 1939 in Bay City (Santa Monica), California. It follows detective Philip Marlowe as he tries to find a man who had supposedly been killed in a hit-and-run accident.
Philip Marlowe (Liam Neeson) is a World War I vet who worked briefly for the Los Angeles Police as a detective but now is a private detective. Clare Cavendish (Diane Kruger), a married young blonde, asks Marlowe to find Nico Peterson (François Arnaud), her lover who worked at a film studio owned by her very wealthy mother and former film star, Dorothy Quincannon (Jessica Lange).
Marlowe soon learns that Peterson died outside an exclusive private club in a hit-and-run accident. However, it soon appears that Peterson is not dead, and a wide variety of potential villains are looking for him, including the manager of the private club, Floyd Hanson (Danny Huston), and a local gangster, Lou Hendricks (Alan Cumming). Marlowe pursues other sources of information, but each comes to an unfortunate end. By the film's end, Marlowe solves the mystery with the help of the police, with who he remains on good terms, and an African American hood, Cedric (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje ), who serves as muscle for Lou Hendricks.
There is much to like in "Marlowe" that fits the neo-noir style of clipped conversation, a world-weary detective unafraid to use his fists, and glamourous but suspicious female leads. However, the ending was too predictable, and numerous characters begged for more context and development. It's not in the same ballpark with "Chinatown."
Philip Marlowe (Liam Neeson) is a World War I vet who worked briefly for the Los Angeles Police as a detective but now is a private detective. Clare Cavendish (Diane Kruger), a married young blonde, asks Marlowe to find Nico Peterson (François Arnaud), her lover who worked at a film studio owned by her very wealthy mother and former film star, Dorothy Quincannon (Jessica Lange).
Marlowe soon learns that Peterson died outside an exclusive private club in a hit-and-run accident. However, it soon appears that Peterson is not dead, and a wide variety of potential villains are looking for him, including the manager of the private club, Floyd Hanson (Danny Huston), and a local gangster, Lou Hendricks (Alan Cumming). Marlowe pursues other sources of information, but each comes to an unfortunate end. By the film's end, Marlowe solves the mystery with the help of the police, with who he remains on good terms, and an African American hood, Cedric (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje ), who serves as muscle for Lou Hendricks.
There is much to like in "Marlowe" that fits the neo-noir style of clipped conversation, a world-weary detective unafraid to use his fists, and glamourous but suspicious female leads. However, the ending was too predictable, and numerous characters begged for more context and development. It's not in the same ballpark with "Chinatown."