A Kind of Murder (2016)

A Kind of Murder: Directed by Andy Goddard. With Patrick Wilson, Jessica Biel, Haley Bennett, Eddie Marsan. In 1960s New York, Walter Stackhouse is a successful architect married to the beautiful Clara who leads a seemingly perfect life. But his fascination with an unsolved murder leads him into a spiral of chaos as he is forced to play cat-and-mouse with a clever killer and an overambitious detective, while at the same time lusting after another woman.

“A Kind of Murder, based on Patricia Highsmithu0026#39;s book The Blunderer, is a great looking set piece, a 1950u0026#39;s murder mystery, but it somehow feels kind of bland. The problem is lack of character development and an emphasis on style over substance.nStylistically, the film is beautiful, from the sets to the costumes to the great old cars. But Patrick Wilson, as the architect and part time mystery writer Walter Stackhouse, turns in a rather flat performance, so we donu0026#39;t really feel moved by his dilemma. Eddie Marsen, on the other hand, is suitably creepy as a seeming psychopath (did he actually kill his wife? No spoilers here).nJessica Biel, as Stackhouseu0026#39;s neurotic, suicidal wife Clara, is two dimensional. So are Haley Bennett as Wilsonu0026#39;s illicit girlfriend and Vincent Kartheiser as the homicide detective on the case.nMuch of the dialogue is stilted and unrealistic. The mystery itself is intriguing enough (Hitchcock could have done wonders with this story), but the screenplay fails to make us care about the characters.nNevertheless, it keeps you watching, mainly because Highsmith was such a good writer.nFor a movie that is so focused on period, there is one major gaffe: In the nightclub scene, the drummer is playing a modern set of drums. Iu0026#39;m a musician, and I spotted it immediately. Director Andy Goddard should have been paying attention. An oversight like this suggests that he wasnu0026#39;t seriously vested in the film and was just collecting a paycheck.nThe film is not a disaster or even a failure; itu0026#39;s just not totally successful. Stream it for a mindless popcorn night.”