Movie review
Film skews time elements
by Leslie Knott, Reporter

   The Singing Detective, opening Nov. 7, is a blend of 1950s noir and a skewed present.
   The movie stars Robert Downy Jr. as Dan Dark, a crime novelist with a crippling skin disease.
   Confined to his bed and on heavy medications, Dan spends his time mapping out a plot to a screenplay for a book he wrote. His screenplay is about a private investigator checking into the murder of a prostitute in the 1950s.
   Mel Gibson plays the hospital psychiatrist who helps him face himself.
   The makeup really worked as it took a moment for me to realize who it was.
   Katie Homes plays an innocent, sympathetic nurse.
  Other cast includes Robin Wright Penn, Jeremy Northam and Adrien Brody.
   The movie has a few levels intertwined to give an abstract feel.
  The present is very skewed in Dan’s mind as his doctors and nurses break into dance to a ’50s song.
   Dan goes back to his past in flashbacks, giving the viewer clues on who he is now.
  On another level is his screenplay, which mirrors everything. This plot may sound like a lot to take in, but the movie sucks the audience in from the beginning.
   An astute viewer can find a great deal of symbolism hidden throughout the film. How much the viewer enjoys depends on how much he pays attention.
   The cinematography was beautiful.
   Each world is represented with differing light and lenses. The hospital is full of wide angles and bright lighting representing the discomfort of Dan’s disease.
   The screenplay is dark and mysterious with an almost unfinished feel that works.
   Since Dan grew up in the desert, flashbacks are very bright with shadows hiding all the secrets he has to face.
  One caution for PG lovers—the movie does have a lot of sex that is presented in a slightly disturbing light. That and other things give the movie an overall cold feeling—definitely not a warm and fuzzy movie.
   Some may remember that Dennis Potter also wrote a six-part BBC series called The Singing Detective that aired on PBS in the ’80s. While alike in some ways, the movie is a total rethink of the series. The movie has a more optimistic view than the series.
   A strong plot, beautiful cinematography and great acting make this a solid movie. I recommend it especially to those who like abstract, artsy films.