Director: Predrag Antonijevic
Writer: Gerald Di Pego, Justin Di Pego (Screenplay) Gerald Di Pego, Janet Kapsin (Story)
Starring: Josh Lucas, Terrence Howard, Lake Bell, Deborah Ann Woll, Bokeem Woodbine, Noah Bean, Cary Elwes
Plot: In post-Katrina New Orleans, a disgraced detective encounters the ghost of a murdered woman who wants to help him identify her killer.
There may be spoilers the rest of the review
Verdict: Slow Crime Story
Story: Little Murder starts as we see what caused the disgraced detective Ben Chaney (Lucas) to be blacklisted by his department, this is shown by the fact the only work he can get it working for detective Lipp (Woodbine) spying on a potential suspect Drag ‘Donkey’ Hammerman (Howard).
Continuing to ruin his reputation Ben find himself talking to a ghost of a murderer victim Corey (Bell) who wants Ben to solve her murder. Failing to cover his own case Ben finds himself getting deeper into the Corey case as he tries to retrace her final chapters.
Thoughts on Little Murder
Characters/Performance – Ben Chaney is a disgraced detective that gets a surveillance case which turns into a chance for this alcoholic detective to redeem himself as he tries to help solve the murder case which is believed to be closed. Corey is the ghost that is visiting Ben, she has been murdered and wants to clear her brother’s name of the murder. Drag is the man Ben is meant to be watching but the two become respectful friends during the time together. The rest of the cast fills up the suspect list, the owner of the country club, the boyfriend, the best friend and the detective covering a milling spree through the city.
Performance wise, Josh Lucas is fine but does struggle to be the completely leading man for this film. Terrence Howard brings his style to the role which is mostly a smaller supporting one. Lake Bell does make for a good ghostly figure visiting, Cary Elwes also does well through this film.
Story – This is a story about one cop needing to find his respect after being involved in a accidental shooting, it starts off by looking at a serial killer going around New Orleans which sounds interesting but soon it turns into a who dun it revolving around a ghost wanting to know who killed them. I am going to be honest, I was disappointed here, I thought we were getting a serial killer tracking film instead we get a story which could have been an episode of any cop show and not the best at that.
Crime/Thriller – There is a crime to be solved while also having a serial killer on the loss but for some reason we are never following just one of these stories enough to care.
Settings – New Orleans does make for a wonderful setting because it plays into the tones through the movie which bring us into the story when we are not getting bored of the lack of storytelling.
Final Thoughts – This is a largely disappointing film that lacks the true story needed in this film, we get a mish mash going on throughout.
Overall: Disappointing crime thriller
Rating
