Customer Reviews

Brown's Requiem [VHS]

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Jason Freeland's "Brown's Requiem" is proof that you don't need to spend 100 million dollars to make a great movie. "Requiem" is an adaptation of James Ellroy's first novel, and like the book it is high on suspense and twists. The plot is typical Ellroy: an emotionally battered man atones for past sins by involving himself in a labrythian mystery. Michael Rooker, as Fritz Brown, gives a phenomenal performance filled with subtlty and sly acting. The cast is filled with many great character actors including Selma Blair, Brad Dourif, Valerie Perrine, and the late Brion James. Freeland's script is exceptionally tight and is remarkably faithful to the complex novel. Check this movie out!

I didn't like how the story resolved itself in the end, but the cast and production were great. The dialogue was terrific. Amateurish or self-consciously neo noir? Perhaps, but it did a better job as an homage to that genre than "Brick" or "Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang." I didn't read the book so I am just judging the film on its own terms. I say it's worth two hours of your time and a few bucks.

Uneven attempt to adapt James Ellroy's first novel. Features an excellent cast --- William Sasso's portrayal of Fat Dog Baker is worth the price of admission --- but Michael Rooker in the starring role seems badly miscast for an Ellroy-style "hero." Brown's relationships with Jane Baker and Walter are never developed; these characters appear only briefly so it's difficult to feel much emotional resonance (in the novel these relationships are crucial to Brown's motivations and why he acts as he does). A worthwhile entertainment for hard-core mystery fans, but it does make one yearn for the depth and complexity of the novel.

Nothing special about the DVD. The audio is two-channel Dolby and the transfer is letterboxed but not enhanced for 16x9 TVs. Extra features are limited to a trailer and cast and crew bios, although there is an audio commentary by the director.

The Bottom Line:

The modern-day equivalent of a Poverty Row feature, Brown's Requiem lacks high production values and frills but generates a lot out of a little and features Michael Rooker at his anti-social best; if you like neo-noirs or James Ellroy you should watch this underappreciated little film.

A private detective is hired to free a duped young sister by a man that has ties to an illicit activity. The client also has ties to some illicit activity. A very good dramatic mystery. I had to watch it from start to finish.

I loved the book and couldn't believe that the movie was even better. I tend to be critical of first time directors, but I found very little to criticize. Kudos to Freeland for a great performance. If you haven't seen it yet, don't waste any more time.

If you're interest in this movie is based on Selma Blair, you'll probably be disappointed. Not that Selma isn't great in her part as the seventeen year old "play-thing" of an extremely rich and perverse old man, but her part is small despite top billing. If you're looking for skin, the best you're going to do is Selma in her pink undies. Which may be worth it for some die-hard Selma fans. As for the movie itself, if you're looking for a modern day "L.A. Confidential", this isn't it. Though it is a "whodunit", I'm still not quite sure who did what and I'm not sure I really care. Then again, my main interest was Selma, so I could be bias.

This film is a plain suspense story, though we know the bad ones from the very start. The suspense of the film comes from the slow discovery of the details of the crimes. An ex-cop, turned private investigator, gets into a case that leads him to a lot of money but also to a vengeance. The details are absolutely sordid, bleak, disgusting. Some kind of group of criminals work with an important LAPD cop, the one who fired Fritz Brown, the hero, to embezzle a lot of welfare money into their pockets with fake welfare cases. One of their low rank associates, Fat Dog, burns one of their cover-up bars, steals their ledgers and a big chunk of that embezzled money. He is on the run and he hires the PI to look after his sister. He will eventually get killed. But The ugliest part of it is that the 17 year old sister is the lover of the real boss of the little maffia ring. But it will be discovered that she is in fact his daughter. This last detail is what makes this story unbearable. The fact that the man is a Jew determines the break away attitude of Fat Dog. But the sister, when she finally knows the truth, decides to stick with her father-lover. The PI will eventually get his vengeance against the LAPD cop-VIP, and his hands on Fat Dog's stolen money. But the vision of the world given here is absolutely sickening. I will yet regret the antisemitism that lurks behind the film that in part takes place in Venice, a place that is also known as the locale of American History X, another story about antisemitism and neo-nazi leagues. Fat Dog is on that line with Hitler's picture well positioned in his shack. We thus have the impression we are entering a world that is purely created by Hollywood and we do not know whether we are in the real world or not. This gives the strange impression that we are living in a virtual world wirth Hollywood's productions and that this virtual world has a loose connection with the real world. But is it really the case ? We cannot know nor decide. Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, Paris University II