Mediocre and badly dated attempt at film noir.

Rating: 2/10 (21 December 2012)

Maybe its just that times have changed, but I don't think so. Some find this a newish film noir classic but I found it a poor attempt at being a film anything. The cinema photography is uninspired, the costuming cheesy, the art direction uninspired and then there's the lumbering script. My god, I was disappointed. I had heard so much about this movie through the years and it not only fell short, it collapsed. And how do you screw up a movie with Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway? I don't know, but Roman Polanski sure did a job of it. What a mucked up movie. And how about that embarrassing cameo by Polanski. My goodness, I almost laughed out loud. And then poor John Huston...My, my, my.
I guess one thing that really put me off is this movie lacks ANY of the grittiness you expect in a film noir classic. Comparing a real film noir classic like Double Indemnity to this mess is painful. Everything is over done to the point of being contrived. Its like the difference between visiting Newschwanstein Castle in Bavaria and the castle at Disneyland.
Watch The Usual Suspects or LA Confidential instead. This ones a dog.