When Justice Fails

Check out the incredible Title Sequence. Marlee Maitlin does her best role since Children of a lesser God. If you haven't see this movie yet, RENT IT.

Jeff Fahey leads a brilliant cast, including Montreal native Carl Morotte.

It's hard for anyone, even Jeff Fahey, to carry an unskilled amateur like Marlee Matlin through a film. He tries, to his credit. Matlin is essentially a character actress who can (what a surprise) manage a "handicapped" character, but her essentially zero range and inability to hold anyone's attention should keep her out of major roles like this one. This is about the third movie she's ruined, and I for one am getting tired of it. Soon she'll b e like Ed Asner -- an early warning to "skip this film."

This one isn't awful, but it isn't worth watching unless there's absolutely nothing on anywhere else.

I'm not sure that anyone could be charitable enough to say that this is a great movie. The writing is fairly trite, and any high-schooler with a C average could see the "twists" coming a mile away. But to fault Marlee Matlin for it (and I do realize that was done some time ago), and in such insulting terms? Unnecessary.

First, character actors do important work, so attempting to slander one by using the term is pointless. A low number of leading roles does not necessarily indicate a lack of success. Also, categorizing her as an amateur? An Academy Award for her first movie role ever (in 1986), then a number of years in standout *character* roles to a great deal of critical acclaim (ever heard of The West Wing?) - that certainly doesn't add up to a rookie career.

What was most insulting, though, was the "what a surprise" comment. Why focus on an actor's disability just because you don't care for them? Admittedly, Marlee Matlin would be unable to play a character without a disability - there's no way to hide deafness, or an inability to speak without a deaf "accent." But she is eloquent, expressive, and impossible to ignore in most any part. Uninformed, prejudiced comments can't take that away from her.

Detective Tom Chaney (Jeff Fahey) is a lonely man, having a new partner, the gay Detective Rod Lambeau (Carl Marotte). They are investigating two similar murders in Manhattan, and their main suspect is the successful prosecutor Katy Wesson (Marlee Matlin). During the investigations, Tom and Katy fall in love for each other. However, the lack of trust of Tom on Katty leads to a series of problems. The end of the story reveals many secrets. This film-noir is very reasonable, but something is missing in the story to be an excellent movie. The screenplay really need some improvement. Marlee Martin is very expressive and has a good performance. Jeff Fahey and Carl Marotte are also good as two colleagues who learn to respect each other. Anyway, it is a worthwhile entertainment and hooks the attention of the viewer. This is the second time that I watch this movie and I do not regret. The IMDB User Rating of 4.1 is unfair. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): `Assassinato em Manhattan' (`Murder in Manhattan')

I saw this film on TV & I sure am glad I didn't pay to see it (okay..so the cable if you're being technical). The writing was stupid. Throughout the film I was utterly confused because they never explained anything or brought up random facts that's suppose to "help" us figure out the mystery. Some parts of the plot we're unnecessary and had nothing to do with the story.

I thought Marlee did a fantastic job for the crap she was given. The whole movie was just weird, and I just kept watching because of her. Honestly, don't watch this unless you are a Marlee fan or Jeff Fahey fan.