Q: What do you get if you put a naturaly gifted actress with powerful screen presence, together centre stage with an actor who exudes raw, truthful bearing? A: An extremely interesting and tantilising mind game. Sadly, too few films, since the 1940's, allow both the male & female leads to both shine absolutely equaly, profiting the end result. The culmination of Jones & Madsen's performances is a retro work of art. The casting & editing is vibrant, but this narrative should have been directed by an Art House impresario, because lost in mainstream tv it becomes merely a taxing jigsaw.
PLOT: The two titles are part of the puzzle aspect to this film. For 'Gotham', read as - Goth-ham or Gothic 'ham', as in a noir spoof, or if you equate Gotham with Batman, then evolve this to the catchphrase 'the dynamic duo' and you have the Madsen & Jones chemistry. For 'The Dead Can't Lie', read as - why tell us, unless they can, therefore is this a single or double bluff? These are clues, but they could be a 'red herring'. It's a dark tale about lies within lies and whether there is any point in unraveling them. There are repeated motifs in the dialogue that are inconsistant, so it probably isnt possible to assert the truth, since each character is potentially lieing! Even the music is designed to deliberately mislead!
RATEING: 7/10 as a film, but 9/10 as a brain teaser.
WHO should watch this film?: Adults only, because of content. Women will enjoy the exuberantly feminine power of Madsen, whereas men will enjoy looking at it in action! Watch out for the 'Rubik's Cube', as it's a barometer of Jones' confusion and ours! If you like doing puzzles and can cope if you dont solve them, you will love & watch this film repeatedly.
