Remember when I talked about craft. Holy shit, this movie is
art at its highest form. And not just because of the production design, but
because this is cinema you WISH were made again. What a shame that we’re just
too impatient and talentless to achieve this marvel. We’re relegated to
“Birdman” which is an indictment and sad-sack whine-fest only a handful of
Academy voters thought were the Best Picture. It also gave the general public
an idea on who really voted for awards. I could randomly ask someone in Ohio if
they saw “Birdman,” they’d have no clue. In fact, any flyover state would be
hard pressed to know it. “Murder…” is an accessible movie to the movie watching
public. This movie would’ve swept if it were made today. Because it does still
hold up even if some of the set up is far-fetched, it’s a ton of fun.
The movie is inspired by the kidnapping of the Charles
Lindbergh baby, who tragically was murdered shortly after a ransom was paid.
They found the culprit, who was tried and put to death. So, this inspires the
beginning of the mystery which was written by Agatha Christie. Then turned into
a screenplay.
The movie is really smart that it sets up a world renowned
detective who, by accident stumbles onto the murder. In which the suspects all
come from different places and all seem so…suspicious. Not a one of them seems
capable of murder. But, slowly clues emerge. Is it set to misguide you? Maybe.
But they do all play out in the end. What I absolutely love about this movie is
the tempo and fun it seems to be having. Which is no surprise this became such
a fad of murder mystery train trips that emerged (and still function today).
Who murdered the man who dodged justice in light of the kidnapping murder of a
child?
The other great thing about this movie are the stars in it.
My God, how was this even possible. Ingrid Bergman, Sean Connery, (a stunning)
Vanessa Redgrave, (sexy) Jaqueline Bisset, Martin Balsam, Anthony Perkins,
Lauren Bacall, and the absolutely brilliant Albert Finney as detective Poirot.
They do make inside jokes with a few of these characters. For example, as a
wink to the audience, Anthony Perkins plays a creepy Mama’s boy, and Lumet
REALLY milks the “Psycho” references.
Speaking of Sidney Lumet…had he maybe made flashier movies,
I consider him on par with Billy Wilder. I would say he’s my second favorite
director of all time. His movies have an eccentricity to them that is both dark
and comedic in its darkness. I think he went too shady in “Before The Devil
Knows You’re Dead” before his death, but his career has been nothing short of
brilliant, but is never mentioned in the canon of Coppola, Scorsese or
Spielberg. Lumet is up there, if not surpasses in terms of skill and material.
He’s a craftsman that cares about the art (though he’s also stumbled with the
remake of “Gloria” & the inexplicable “Stranger Among Us” is really not
fun), you still get the sense he is in control of his movies. And it saddens
me, because the batch of movies we’re getting now are genre pieces, but so lack
in…cinematic scope. My guess is that most are coming from television and shoot
for the small screen. I would also go into a rant about how unskilled
cinematographers are these days, but you can always read backlogs of my blogs
to understand that current disgust.
Anyway, check out this movie if you can. It does take patience
to get connected with everyone. And Finney’s accent is hard to decipher, so try
watching with subtitles. It doesn’t ruin the experience. A wonderful and fun
time.
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