I cannot quite put my finger on why I like this movie as much as I do, although I suspect it is my identification with Neil, what with his love for movies and, at least initially, sedentary life. Add to that the thought of having this mysterious force of nature come soaring through his life and you have a combination that is hard to ignore.
As strong as the Neil/Violet dynamic is, and it is considerable, it is pretty much all the movie has. The plot, such as it is, runs out of steam and there is no direction as the climax is reached. It ends on a good personal note, but a very weak plot note. It is the sort of movie that does not go anywhere; there is no development of plot. As an extension of the lack of genuine plot, the secondary characters do not really do anything of much importance.
Still, these problems did not really bother me. Cillian Murphy is the perfect everyman for the movie fan to identify with, and Lucy Liu is such an adorably charismatic presence that you cannot help but be drawn to her. Their combined strength at the core of this film is fantastic and held my attention all the way through.
Watching the Detectives was written and directed by Paul Soter who, I was surprised to discover, is a member of the Broken Lizard comedy troupe — you know, those guys who made Super Troopers, Club Dread, and Beerfest. I was surprised because this film is quite a distance away from the slapstick, sophomoric tone of the Broken Lizard outings. This film displays a growth and maturity that films like Beerfest could never display. This is an impressive solo feature for Soter and I am interested to see what other projects he may develop separate from Broken Lizard.
Bottom line. In the end, I have to say that I loved this movie. I can think of plenty more movies that are way better than this, but somehow, some way, Watching the Detectives cut through my defenses and captured my imagination in a way that a movie hasn't been able to do recently. I still cannot truly explain why, and likely never will. Let me end by saying that you must give this film a shot; see if you aren't charmed the same way I am.
Highly Recommended.
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