REVIEW: Marlowe

Marlowe gets groovy and Bruce Lee wrecks his office with his mighty kicks and lethal punches.

After the grand disappointment that was <i>Lady in the Lake<i>, both the book and the movie, I was glad to see this novel sees the detective back in action with an intriguing case that starts very simply but quickly becomes a twisty and thrilling ride involving your good old body counts, blackmail and the dark world of TV. Marlowe translates the late 40s novel to the then modern late 60s through the visuals, starting with that cool opening and the score has this very playfulness to it yet sometimes slightly leans into the neo-noir, not so much through jazzy melodies but the use of piano reminds me of what you would hear in a club back in the day. The cinematography is also pretty good; again, it sticks to a lot of the hippie culture of that era, with some of those folks appearing in the background or lots of the outfits and makeup resembling this.

James Garner makes for a really good Marlowe. Not the best, but definitely better than the two Montgomerys. Still torn on whether I prefer him or Mitchum, who will embody the character for about a decade. His version lacks the grit and cynicism of the character, though we get back some of the wisecrack, wise-guy attitude, but at the same time both he and the film lean more into the James Bond territory, where he plays the character less like a PI and more like a spy detective or something. Like I said, Bruce Lee appears for a few minutes; he’s great in the little screen time he gets, but his character feels like a henchman to the 007’s bad guy of the film. Also, Rita and a lot of the other female characters do a nice job but they lack any of the attributes that make the female protagonists so great, particularly the seductiveness. None leaves much of a lasting impression; something unfortunate has happened since the Becall days and will probably not happen again until later when we get to <i>Farewell, My Lovely<i> with Charlotte Rampling.

All in all, like I said, in many ways it revives the series after two big duds and Garner has a charm to him that drew me in to his version. The writing is solid, though it can get a little muddled and I can see how some people may find all the different subplots lacking cohesion and coming off as half-assed. As I write this, I am still midway through the novel, and some of the wit and great banter from the novel is missing, which is kind of sad as it features some of the best in the series. But if you are looking for a solid detective movie, I’d say this may be worth checking out.