Movie Review: SLEEPING DOGS

By ABBIE BERNSTEIN / Staff Writer

Posted: March 22nd, 2024 / 01:47 AM

SLEEPING DOGS movie poster | ©2024 The Avenue

Rating: R
Stars: Russell Crowe, Karen Gillan, Marton Csókás, Thomas M. Wright, Harry Greenwood, Tommy Flanagan, Pacharo Mzembe, Lynn Gilmartin, Paula Arundell
Writers: Adam Cooper & Bill Collage, based on THE BOOK OF MIRRORS by E.O. Chirovici
Director: Adam Cooper
Distributor: The Avenue
Release Date: March 22, 2024

SLEEPING DOGS is based on a novel, THE BOOK OF MIRRORS by E.O. Chirovici. Without reading the source material, it’s impossible to know whether the book has the same meta problem as the movie.

Directed by Adam Cooper, from a screenplay by Cooper & Bill Collage, SLEEPING DOGS is a cold case murder mystery. Our protagonist, ex-police detective Roy Freeman (Russell Crowe), is undergoing an experimental new treatment, which has included brain surgery, for Alzheimer’s.

The treatment seems to be working in terms of improving Roy’s cognition. The trouble is, he can’t remember anything from before the surgery, to the point where he’s had to write his own name on masking tape stuck to the wall. There are similar felt-marker-on-masking-tape notes all over Roy’s home, up to and including directions to the bathroom.

At first, we think we may be in MEMENTO territory. But then SLEEPING DOGS gets down to business. Death row inmate Isaac Samuel (Pacharo Mzembe) reaches out to Roy. Isaac’s execution date is approaching. He insists that he’s innocent. As Roy is one of the two detectives who put him away, Isaac wants an admission that there were other suspects who were never investigated. There is a reasonable explanation as to why this is happening now; Isaac has only recently gotten get an anti-death penalty advocacy group to help him.

Ten years earlier, charismatic college psychology professor, Joseph Wieder (Marton Csokas), was murdered in his home. Wieder may or may not have overplayed his hand with his teaching assistant, Laura Baines (Karen Gillan). Another assistant, aspiring writer Richard Finn (Harry Greenwood), may or may not have been involved with Laura.

Roy, of course, has no memory of the case, but he still has detective instincts and his old case files – along with advice from his doctor that it’s good for his mental recovery to work on puzzles.

An interesting aspect of SLEEPING DOGS is that, while it is set in Pennsylvania, it was shot in Melbourne, Australia. The international cast (from Australia, New Zealand, Scotland) mostly do a good job sounding American. Csókás uses a lightly European accent, as there’s no reason his character Wieder needs to be local.

Likewise, the production design, set decoration and greenery all look American, save for one not-U.S.-like housing exterior.

The various conflicting stories of what happened and why are intriguing. Crowe is fine as the melancholy but diligent protagonist, Gillan is highly effective, and Tommy Flanagan has impact as Roy’s old partner.

However, the meta factor is an issue. If Roy’s condition and treatment were highlighted more, SLEEPING DOGS might play differently. But because it’s so eager to get to its own puzzle-solving, viewers may ask themselves early on why the movie is using certain narrative devices, and there’s only one likely answer.

This doesn’t mean SLEEPING DOGS doesn’t engage modestly as a modern film noir, but it’s definitely more about the journey than the destination.

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