Marlowe

Neil Jordan’s latest has an excellent cast, but the mystery at the center of this Raymond Chandler-based story isn’t up to snuff. Watching any Liam Neeson-starring movie is rarely a bad experience. Even in the titles that feel repetitive – namely, those countless action flicks he’s starred in ever since Taken – his performances always find a way to pull you in and get you at least a little bit involved in the story. In his hundredth film Marlowe, this isn’t any different, even though by its very nature, the story doesn’t focus too much on the title character.

Set in 1930s Hollywood, Marlowe pays little homage to that era and noir cinema. The title character is a private investigator who is recruited by Clare Cavendish (Diane Kruger), an heiress who’s in search of her ex-lover Nico (François Arnaud). The only trouble is, he’s presumed dead and witnesses saw him die, but she says he’s alive and well somewhere. It’s up to Marlowe to get to the bottom of this story and find out what truth is there in all versions of the story.

Genres:Comedy, Drama

Director:Steven Soderbergh

Cast:Salma Hayek, Channing Tatum, Joe Manganiello