Customer Reviews

Gotham

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is one of my favorite movies, and it's a mystery to me that it isn't more popular. I am waiting patiently for it to appear on DVD - I already have it on laserdisk.

Virginia Madsen portrays the dead wife of a wealthy man who has hired Tommy Lee Jones (a barely-competent private eye), to get her to leave him alone. Jones plays along with the wealthy client, whom he assumes is a nut case, because he needs the work. As things develop, Jones starts to fall in love with Madsen.

Gotham is an extremely stylish detective/ghost story that includes Virginia Madsen's best acting performance. She should have won an Oscar for her performance here. Her piercing eye contact with the camera at the very end of the movie is both hypnotizing and electrifying. There are many other scenes that really take your breath away - like when she listens to a street musician sing "Danny Boy."

This movie gets my strongest recommendation. If you are a fan of Virginia Madsen, you MUST have this movie.

Chances are you have missed this devilish delightful gem and that is a shame. With Tommy Lee Jones being one of the best actors around, I was sorry this film is totally ignored. I think the few that saw it was not entirely sure what to make of it. For those who have found it, they generally adore this quirky, sexy thriller, a who dun it, who stole the jewels, and if half the cast are alive or not!

Tommy Lee Jones gives a great performance (when does he not) as Eddie Mallard. Eddie is a down-on-his-lucky, so-so gumshoe in the Sam Spade tradition. When a friend wants to be a client with the tale he wants Eddie to persuade his ex-wife Rachel Carlyle (sexy Virginia Madsen) to leave him alone, Eddie says yes. All in a days business. Well, problems soon become apparent that is "ex" wife was not an "ex" because his friend divorced her, but rather he killed her and then stole all her jewelry. When this fact comes to light, Eddie's client insists he still wants Eddie to convince Rachel to go away. Befuddled by his friends insistence he wants the dead woman to leave him alone, Eddie thinks, what the heck, easy money, eh? However, Rachel soon turns up and she hardly looks like a ghost. She is a very sexy bombshell. Soon Eddie is drawn into Rachel's web and into an affair.

It's done with a ton of symbolism that requires the viewer to watch this one a dozen times to catch all the little nuances. The moody atmospheric lensing adds to the teasing, tantalizing feel, with two strong performances by two very amazing actors. I have always adored Virginia Madsen. She is the epitome blonde bombshell, yet intelligence radiated, snapping from her eyes challenging you to dare call her a dumb blonde.

In one very poignant scene, Madsen and Jones stop before a street singer and asks him to sing a song. And he says there is only one song. He signs the most beautiful version of Danny Boy. I defy anyone not have a tear in their eye after the haunting melody. The singer ends the song in tears himself, wipes them and says "Mercy." saying it just does not get any better than this.

That sums up this whole beautiful, quirky film. Mercy!

This is a wonderful little movie that, I think, was made originally for cable. I saw it when it came out and it has always been a favorite. What I love most about the film is the haunting tone, which is reflected in the noir storyline, visuals, and music. I especially liked the music -- the noted version of Danny Boy is the best rendition I've ever heard, and the torch music is great and fits the cosmopolitan "feel" of the movie. Since it was a little seen film, you won't get a lot of reviews. Don't let the fact that it was not widely seen scare you off -- it is a keeper. Tommy Lee Jones gives a great performance and Virginia Madsen has never been more beautiful.

What REALLY happens inside a man when he "falls in love"? If you want to begin to get a clue, or - better yet - if you are tearfully trying to grasp what on earth has happened to you in particular, you should see "Gotham" - again and again. It is an American classic of the Inner Landscape.

I wonder how much idea Tommy Lee Jones and company had of just what they were enacting. Only as much as writer/producer/director, Lloyd Fonvielle, was able or willing to tell them. Siskel & Ebert, etc., totally missed the point. Why? Because people in our culture are not prepared for a movie whose plot/premise barely holds together as a tale of what occurs in the world but which, as an inner story, dream- or myth-like, works quite beautifully. (In that sense the movie's plot is rather like our lives!)

Your enjoyment/comprehension of this movie will be much enhanced if you have at least some familiarity with the Jungian Anima (I mean conceptually - we men all do experientally, although depressingly few know much about, or acknowledge, Her!). If you don't, I don't want to put you off. It will do quite nicely if a woman's image has - in whatever way - just devastated you, or some man you know, inside. I've never seen a movie where this is so graphically depicted. The decline and Fall. "How will I find you?" Eddie quaveringly asks. "Don't worry," she replies, with a smile that is simultaneously sweet and diabolical, "I'll find YOU." Oh, yes.

This movie is incredibly rich in symbols and insight, and really repays multiple viewings. Even if you don't understand why Eddie's name is Mallard; why Rachel's face has suddenly become chalky white as she turns and emits her spine-chilling anger when challenged by Eddie on a matter of historical accuracy; the Doorman; why it is death to "sleep with a ghost"; what the pirate's sword is all about (re-read your Tristan & Isolde, the chapel); why She MUST emerge from the mist, at the brazier, to warn Eddie not to embark on his own destruction, before herself taking the executive role in bringing it about ("I've KILLED you, Eddie...and I'm GLAD I did!"); the role of the psychic detective (that's you - or could be); the splitting of the male psyche into Charlie and Eddie, as separate disastrous approaches to Her; the jewels (and this IS pretty murky!); the themes of watery immersion, pugilism, paganism vs Christianity, etc., EVEN THEN...something will tug at you as watch this movie.

As you can probably tell, I'd love to bend your ears with a full-scale analysis, but the 1000 word limit protects you from people like me! Feel free to e-mail me if you want to talk about Gotham, I never found anyone on my wavelength.

Seems like no one has ever heard of this movie, and that is a shame. It is chilling, stylish and funny, all in the same moment. Really a fun movie!

Gotham is not the original title of this movie. I feel the original title caputured the essence of the movie and it was a mistake to change the title. There is a lot to like about this movie and I only wish it had recieved the credit it deserved when it was first released. Gotham is a tightly woeven story full of suspense and intrigue that keeps the viewer guessing till the end. The actors have done a supurb job, I especially like the character played by Tommy Lee Jones. It is one of the rare opportunities that you get to see him playing the romantic leading man. I especially enjoyed watching his character unravel as he becomes captavated by the 'ghost' he is meant to be investigating. I only wish that the ending was as good as the rest of the movie, as I feel it lets the movie down slightly.

What a: "Diamond in the rough" this little film is!!
Can't Believe i actually found it @ amazon marketplace AND BRAND SPANKING NEW!!! NO film Noir fan's library IS COMPLETE without this ONE!!
I won't *spoil* .. like other writers... where's The Point in seeing it then?? Its Got A young(er) Tommy Lee, Virginia Madsen playing The femme fatal & showing-Off her amazing cleavage at EVERY Opportunity!! ALL this & a "Twist" to The Usual Noir plot-line... "REMARKABLE!" "UNBELIEVEABLE!!" .. They Sure don't Make films like these anymore.. and its OUT LOSS!! But for THE PRICE I PAID YOU CAN: "GET it NOW!!" before its GONE!
You don't like it i'll BUY it back from YOU and give to a/another worthy film Buff... with amazing lines like: "Beer.. mayonnaise??" as Tommy Lee has his faithful pal over to his dingy little Private EYE pad...
"YOU CANNOT LOSE!" .. So WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR??

Virginia Madsen always is at her best when she is a saucy vixen. She is a vixen, driven ghost here and she is perfect as one. (See her in the HOT SPOT for another great vixen role). When Tommy Lee Jones is hired to keep her away from her ex, he has met his match, not the reverse! She's mad as hell that her jewels are missing plus carries a whole laundry list of other sins against her which she is back to square once and for all. The atmosphere is as tantalizing as its stars with shadowy, noirish, baroqueness. I don't know why these two were never paired together again. They had great onscreen chemistry. It was originally made for cable when it probably should have been released theatrically. It was that good.

Cash-strapped private detective Tommy Lee Jones is hired by a client who claims he is being haunted by the ghost of his dead wife (Virginia Madsen). Which will he choose--solving the mystery or getting the girl? Some torrid romance and engaging plot twists make this flick a fun ride. A surprise scene with a homeless guy is one of my all time favorites; this scene alone is worth the price of a ticket. R with some nudity. Tommy Lee always delivers and Virginia Madsen is at her hottest. Stylish and steamy, check this one out!

Concidering that I really love a good noir, or neo-noir perhaps going in I was expecting too much. Although having a stylish look and feel, and the music fit the mood, I like both Tommy Lee Jones and Virginia Madsen in several other films they done, however this film just didn't do it for me. The acting was streatched to disbelief probably overcompensating for the Swiss Cheese of a plot. This was by far NO Chinatown or L.A. Confidential. Two stars is more than generous.