Detective

not a bad movie. just not a good one. it is tolerable, the kind of movie you will end up watching if you are sick in bed and can't find the remote. it's a "movie of the week" paced like a mini-series event scheduled during sweeps. Tom Berenger is good (as he always is) and Cybill Shepherd is, well, Cybill Shepherd. Annabeth Gish is totally wasted. She seems to actually be absent through most of her performance except for the occasional shrill outburst towards the end. You can't really blame the actors because the real flaw is the story line and script: back-to-back pointless and clichéd conversations that do nothing to move the plot along.

This movie took a pretty massive book and condensed it somewhat into about three hours of screen time. Condensing I get, but there are other problems: (1) The original book had a fairly straightforward set of flashbacks that really built the suspense for me. This made-for-TV movie rendered the entire plot as a sequential time line, dashing key elements of the original story's suspense. TV viewers can't handle flashbacks? Come on, give me a break! (2) In the movie, Cynthia Ernst, fellow detective of the title role, had not an ounce of the charisma, go-for-the-jugular dynamism and downright sex appeal of the book's character. Worse, she may as well have been dressed in a sweatshirt and stretch pants for most of the movie. Bad choice of actress, too? Maybe. (3) The sexual tension between the movie's Ernst character and Detective-Sergeant Ainslie, a major source of the suspense in the book, was all but undetectable in the movie. Put it down to a lack of chemistry between Tom Berenger and Annabeth Gish, I guess. (Not as bad as Bird On A Wire, but I'm just saying...) (4) The potential for suspense that should attend the discovery of a major public figure's involvement in a major crime, plus the tension of obtaining the final proof, was 99% wasted. That was how the book made my pulse pound! (5) The motivation for the major public figure's crime was revealed in the book, but not in the movie. Another opportunity wasted. ... On balance, Detective-Sergeant Ainslie's wife Karen was played by Cybill Shepherd, and I love watching her do anything.... :)

It is amazing the level of actors that stooped to act in this badly written movie. The plot idea has value, but 1. the dialogues were terrible, and 2. the audio production was horrible with background music almost drowning out the actors. Interesting concept, but be prepared to be disappointed.

It took many hours to get through this predictable detective story. With a strong heavy weight cast, it still seems endless with many scenes that were just too long. Is this the writing? Directing? Or acting? Tom Berenger in the lead role as the detective out to solve the crimes, seemed to be going around in a daze, not sure what was happening around him. When he is faced with truths, his face doesn't change expression. I usually like this actor, but not in this. Cybill Shepherd wasted in a thankless role as the wife he left behind. Not much for her to do. Too bad. More of her could have made the story at least exciting. Annabeth Gish, just was bad casting. Not much going on there. One expression throughout the movie. No one cared. Veteran Charles Durning also wasted in a nothing role. Don't see much of him. Sean O'Bryan and David Atkinson, to this viewer turned in the most interesting and challenging roles. Good acting and energy sadly lacking from the others. But, please a four hour movie? It has to have something to hold interest. I welcomed the commercials just to get a break.

Being a Tom Berenger fan for many years, I purchased the DVD and enjoyed this "made from TV" movie a lot. Tom can play any role and was excellent as the conflicted man faced with ethical and personal problems. Scenes with Cybill Shepard and the marriage counselor rang true to me, as did those involving the priest-detective dilemma of this man's life. There was more to ponder in the story than just the murder mystery. The supporting cast, overall, was well chosen and the performances satisfying. This was one of those motion picture treatmentsof a novel which caused me to make plans to read Arthur Hailey's book. All in all, my impression of this movie is positive and I hope that you, the reader of this review, will give it a try.