Really Surprised!

It isn't all that great, actually. Really cheesy and very predicable of how certain scenes are gonna turn play out. However, I guess that's the charm of it all, because I would consider this one of my guilty pleasures.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

A man who is starting to feel the pangs of lonely life, late at night he can't stop himself from phoning to an ex-wife that walked out on him. A series of crimes around the city where men turn up dead, lonely men seeking women late at night. He investigates, by posing as one of them, until he meets her.The middle portion revolves around these two selves in him trying to decide on the narrative; the lonely guy who's finally found her versus the cop whose job is to suspect her, even if that means she's the killer that he has to bring in. He settles for the latter, until a horrible version of himself is spat out by the story in the end, a man broken after his wife walked out on him. He gets to wrestle this uglier side of himself and come out on the other end for her purged of demons.That's all fine but it labors itself by trying to be one of those "character studies" that Methodist actors seem to gravitate to, Pacino here. A lot of them were being made in the 70s but they carried on, minus the young passion. So a lot of protracted scenes between characters, the thought is that just by seeing them together in scenes, we get "life". We don't of course, we get scenes. It's all a bit like Pacino's acting; aimless lumbering with the occasional bug-eyed frisson, but never amounts to more than pacing through motions. There are a few moments that suggest deeper undercurrents - the slumped look on the middle-aged blonde's face as she walks out the restaurant with a defeated soul - how Elen eerily manifests out of a dark hallway - and my favorite moment, the poem his father recites about someone who is living alone in the woods. It's so good, the poem and timing of delivery, it surpasses the whole film.Noir Meter: 1/4

With having heard in several documentaries for a few years about Al Pacino's long time collaboration with producer Martin Bregman,I was happily caught by surprise,when a very kind IMDb'er gave me a chance to see Pacino and Bregman's Neo-Noir sea of love…The plot:Celebrating 20 years of being on the force, Det.Frank Keller finds any party plans of his being stopped in their tracks,thanks to the discovery of a man who has died from a bullet shot in the back of his head.Attempting to find any leads which could get him on the track to finding the killer,Frank runs into Det.Sherman,who tells Keller that he has come to pay a visit,due to a recent murder taking place in his area,which matches the one that Frank's currently investigating.Deciding to team up on the case,Frank and Sherman uncover the fact that each of the murder victims had placed rhyming lonely hearts ads in a magazine.Realizing that the murderer is killing anyone who places a rhyming ad in the magazine,Keller and Sherman decide to go undercover by placing a rhyming lonely hearts ad which will get the killer out of the shadows.As they start to check up on the replies to the ad,Frank and Sherman begin to fear that their case is going to be broken by a deadly lonely heart.View on the film:Cruising…back into the film world after leaving it behind in 1985,Al Pacino gives an excellent performance which reveals that the passing years had not made Pacino lose his grove.Displaying all the wear & tear that Keller has seen over the last 20 years across his face,Pacino brilliantly shows Keller to be a booze-soaked detective,whose drinking habits our only matched by his thrust to walk down the city's darken streets.As the movie begins to steam up,Pacino allows nervousness to enter his performance,as Keller starts to suspect that he may be getting much closer to the lonely heart killer than he had originally expected.Joining Pacino,John Goodman gives a great jet black performance as Sherman,with Goodman shining up a number of the titles darkly comedic moments.Creating an extremely sensual atmosphere as Frank's temptation,Ellen Barkin gives a brilliant performance as Helen Cruger,with Barkin, (who along with appearing naked in the movie,also reunited with Pacino in 2007 for Ocean's 13) perfectly balancing the mysterious sexual side of this femme fatale, that might make her the lonely heart killer,with a subtle tension based around Cruger, (who unlike most female characters in this sub-genre,is a single mum) allowing Keller to enter her dating life.Building a tantalising tower by combining the Erotic Thriller sub- genre with a bubbling Neo-Noir intensity and a sharp serial Killer bite,the screenplay by Richard Price makes sure that the films steamiest moments are tightly threaded to a Neo-Noir atmosphere which gives the movie a raw feel,thanks to Price showing that Keller's down on his luck heart,might lead to him becoming another victim of the lonely heart killer.After building up a wonderful tense atmosphere,with director Harold Becker, (who along with later doing another Erotic Thriller Neo- Noir called Malice,reunited with Pacino in 1996 for City Hall)using coiled tracking shots to show the breaking streets that Keller walks down,Price goes for a left-field ending,which sadly deflates some of the unease in Helen and Keller's relationship,and also rubs off some of the ink from this Neo-Nor's lonely hearts ad.

Harold Becker directed this police thriller that stars Al Pacino as New York City detective Frank Keller, who joins forces with fellow detective Sherman Touhey(played by John Goodman) to go undercover in the singles scene to uncover the serial killer of lonely hearts that are from the newspaper columns. One such woman, Helen Cruger(played by Ellen Barkin) seems like a suspect, but Frank finds himself falling for her, and since he had to give her a false identity of himself, is worried about how that can impact a future relationship...and there is still the killer to find! Potentially routine plot is well-handled here, with fine direction and performances, and solid suspense.

Al Pacino, John Goodman and Ellen Barkin. a smart script and an interesting construction of atmosphere. a remarkable thriller. and little more. because is not only classic catch of bad guy but a show of a lot of nuances. an inspired use of ambiguity and tension, special inks between characters, subtle pieces from social, a wise manner to do all with rare precision. the cast is great but it is basic truth. more important is the science of Harold Becker to give force to each ingredient. result - an admirable movie about choice, fear and love. wonderful performance. oil of music. and something out of words - mark of a very good film