Product: Homicide [VHS]
Rating: 4.0
A Methodical Character Study Masquerading As a Murder-Mystery
Here is David Mamet's third film as a director, a film I had never heard of until The Criterion Collection announced plans to release it recently. Here's a film that, even with it's title, presents itself as a murder-mystery. It's this false presentation that will leave many viewers when they realize it's a character study masquerading as a murder-mystery. Yes, because when it's over, you realize the film's main character is much more of a mystery than anything else going on.Joe Mantegna plays Robert Gold, a hostage negotiator/detective working in the homicide squad. En route to investigate a big case, Gold happens on the scene of a homicide. An elderly Jewish woman has been murdered. Gold doesn't have much time for this case, despite being Jewish himself but, much to his dismay, he's taken off the big case and assigned to investigate the homicide of the elderly woman.This synopsis does give the impression of a pretty straight-forward detective story, but what Mamet puts his focus on is instead the internal conflict of the character. Gold is Jewish and should have some strong feelings about the elderly woman's murder, but he's a policeman first and a Jew last. It's this inability to put his priorities in perspective that forms the core of this story. Make no mistake about it though...This internal conflict is not explored in subtle terms. Mamet is rather heavy-handed with it.There are some great performances here though, especially by Mantegna. This performance makes me question how Mantegna never became a big marquee-name. His performance is masterful in the way he captures the inner turmoil of the Gold character. Not just any actor could pull off the role. William H. Macy is good too as Gold's partner Tim Sullivan.Actor's need to bring their A-game when working with a Mamet script due to the nature of his dialogue. It's not Shakespearean but it's written almost like modern poetry and not any actor could deliver it convincingly. Mamet writes dialogue that can't simply be recited, but must be delivered and the actors he used in Homicide have adapted to this and managed to deliver the dialogue as if delivered from their own thoughts.Kudos also to the cinematography by the famous Roger Deakins and the dark, haunting, ominous, and Oscar-worthy musical score by Alaric Jans. His score compliments every scene while adding a dramatic punch to it.Even being the character study it is, Homicide is still a murder-mystery, but a methodical one, not a shoot 'em up, action-packed type. Not everyone will be entertained by it but it is a powerful movie, simply one that requires patience from the viewer.GRADE: B+