Waste of time

Really Surprised!

Blending excellent reporting and strong storytelling, this is a disturbing film truly stranger than fiction

If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.

Well handled if not particularly memorable neo noir tale, based on the novel by James Ellroy, who'd hit the big time the previous year with the movie adaptation of his story "L.A. Confidential". Written for the screen by its director, Jason Freeland, it guides us through an appropriately twist laden plot, with some commendably dark if also admittedly uncomfortable elements such as incest among its revelations, and its setting is typical noir stuff - the seedy under belly of a city (Los Angeles) that one may not automatically associate with such a place. Michael Rooker is solid and extremely well cast as a flawed but not unlikable protagonist, part time repo man and part time private eye Fritz Brown. Fritz is approached with an assignment by young, corpulent caddie "Fat Dog" Baker ('MADtv''s Will Sasso, delivering an impressive dramatic performance) to watch the man's kid sister Jane (Selma Blair, in fine sultry form). Naturally, Fritz will learn that he's not being told everything, and will uncover, among other things, a link to a former nemesis, an Internal Affairs detective named Cathcart (the late, great screen villain Brion James). "Brown's Requiem" features a wonderfully effective, mournful, sometimes jazzy score by Cynthia Millar, and maintains a true noir feel, with nice widescreen cinematography by Seo Mutarevic. The story is ultimately tinged with tragedy; Fritz's problem with drink will continue to dog him after this story ends, and he won't even be able to truly enjoy an unexpected development that occurs late in the game. What's really cool is seeing this very interesting collection of character actors, familiar faces, and notable veterans that populates the landscape. First off, it's a treat to see Rooker, Brad Dourif, and Tobin Bell all in the same movie, 10 years after "Mississippi Burning". Bell in particular is a hoot in a role that's nothing like the kind of bad guy roles he's often played. Also appearing are Kevin Corrigan, Harold Gould, Barry Newman, William Newman, Jack Wallace, Lee Weaver, Kevin Jackson, Jack Conley, Jennifer Coolidge, and Valerie Perrine. They make this worth sticking with since the pacing is of the deliberate type that may not suit the tastes of some viewers. Overall, the movie is nothing great, but good enough and fun enough to watch. Worth a look for genre fans. Seven out of 10.

I watched this film on DVD and it was just a chance to catch Michael Rooker in the lead role of Fritz Brown, an ex-cop, repo man, and part time detective. Michael plays him with streetwise honesty and toughness but makes it believable and yet shows the weaknesses, and vulnerabilities and flaws of the character. I really enjoyed watching him play these kinds of characters and it's a nice change from seeing him not play a villain or a psychopath. This is an excellent film noir and the best I've ever seen James Freeland has done a brilliant job with this film. The beautiful music score in the opening and closing for the film just fits together with the sad tone of the character. Michael Rooker is one of my favourite actors and I think he did an amazing job in this role he is one of the most underrated actors in Hollywood I hope to see him in more future films.

All of these reviews worth their salt catch on to the fact that this is a great adaption of the book. What they fail to mention is that the locations in this movie really give it that dark, haunting feel that is the underbelly of Los Angeles. LA is not all bright, blaring sunlight and perfectly straight rows of palm trees. The city's most interesting aspect is hidden in its shadows and the film captures that look perfectly.

Really really a good film. I loved the gutsy choices this director made. This is a movie no one should miss. I'm a big fan of James Ellroy and truly believe that Jason Freeland's filmic rendition of this novel is fabulous. If you loved LA Confidential, you'll love this movie.