Tonight's Movie: Marlowe (2023)

Last week I saw the new film PLANE (2023), and today it was back to the movies for me to see another new film with a one-word title, MARLOWE (2023).

As classic film fans could probably guess, Marlowe (played by Liam Neeson) refers to Raymond Chandler's private detective, Philip Marlowe. The screenplay by William Monahan and Neil Jordan is not, however, based on one of Chandler's classic novels but on a book featuring the Marlowe character written by John Banville, aka Benjamin Black.

The film is set in a 1939 fantasy version of Los Angeles, complete with a suburb known as "Bay City." Although the film is set around the film industry, it's not a Los Angeles anyone who lives here would recognize, including a lack of Los Angeles location shooting -- the movie was actually made in Spain!

Even the movie posters seen on a studio lot have familiar titles -- two I noticed were the names of George O'Brien "B" Westerns -- but the poster artwork is not for the original films. Like much else about this "Chandler lite" movie, they're phony.

Similarly, the characters of the Ambassador (Mitchell Mullen) and Dorothy Quincannon (Jessica Lange) were clearly inspired by Joseph P. Kennedy (Sr.) and Gloria Swanson, but the movie doesn't dare use their names for this flight of fancy.

As the movie begins, Quincannon's daughter Clare Cavendish (Diane Kruger) asks Chandler to find her missing lover Nico (Francois Arnaud). No one will be surprised that that proves not to be a straightforward request and Chandler is quickly wrapped up in a complex mystery involving a man who may or may not be dead. I'll leave the story itself to viewers to discover as it unfolds.

MARLOWE has not received particularly strong reviews, but despite my comments above about the lack of authenticity, I found it an enjoyable afternoon at the movies. Neeson is on screen for most of the movie's 109 minutes and he frankly makes the movie; without him it's maybe a two-star film but thanks to his star power and acting ability he pushes the needle close to a three.

Is Neeson actually playing Philip Marlowe? There's little evidence of it, as to my thinking the character simply happens to be a detective in '30s L.A. with the name Marlowe; it actually works better for me thinking of him as a unique character, as it also erases questions about whether Neeson is the appropriate age. (I'd add that his age is addressed multiple times in the script.)

Could the movie have done more with what it had, given the cast? Certainly. It could have been more Chandler-esque and also a little less phony; along with what I mentioned previously, there are multiple anachronisms. A partial list: The women's hairstyles seem wrong for the late '30s; an actress (Seana Kerslake) would never have been allowed to show a graphic eye wound in an action scene in a 1939 movie; and I don't know why a prop house would have had the Maltese Falcon on hand, given the best-known version of the movie wasn't filmed until 1941. (I suppose it could have referred to an earlier version...)

What we're left with, however, is quite enjoyable, taking the film on its own terms, beginning with the pleasure of a reunion of ROB ROY (1995) costars Neeson and Lange. Both are true stars who are fun to watch every moment they're on screen.

The supporting cast has other fine players such as Alan Cumming and -- in perhaps nod to the MALTESE FALCON reference -- Danny Huston. There's also a nice through line with Danny's father not only having directed THE MALTESE FALCON but costarred in the period L.A. mystery CHINATOWN (1974).

Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje is delightful as a chauffeur. Colm Meaney and Ian Hart play Chandler's friends on the police force.

All in all, despite any flaws MARLOWE is an entertaining mystery with a fun setting which held my attention throughout -- pretty much my definition of a popcorn movie. There aren't a huge number of new movies released which interest me, and I had a pleasant time.

I think a viewer who approaches the film with an open mind, willing to accept some of the things I've described above, will probably also find it enjoyable. Viewers will have to look elsewhere for a movie which is authentically "L.A."

The movie deserves its R rating for some language and for violence which gets a little edgier than I typically care for in the final stretch; that said, the violence was reined in just enough it didn't spoil the film for me.

MARLOWE was directed by Neil Jordan and filmed by Xavi Gimenez.

The trailer is here.

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