Marlowe (2022 film)

Marlowe

Company type	Film
Industry	Film industry
Founded	2022 (2022)
Founder	Neil Jordan (director), William Monahan (screenplay)
Products	Neo-noir crime thriller film
Parent	Parallel Films, Hills Productions, Davis Films

Marlowe is a 2022 neo-noir crime thriller film directed by Neil Jordan, who also collaborated with William Monahan on the screenplay. The movie adapts the 2014 novel The Black-Eyed Blonde by John Banville (writing as Benjamin Black) and features Liam Neeson portraying private investigator Philip Marlowe, a character originally created by Raymond Chandler. The ensemble cast includes Diane Kruger, Jessica Lange, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Alan Cumming, François Arnaud, Ian Hart, Danny Huston, Daniela Melchior, and Colm Meaney.

Produced through a collaboration between Parallel Films, Hills Productions, and Davis Films, Marlowe debuted at the 70th San Sebastián International Film Festival on 24 September 2022. It was subsequently released in theaters on 15 February 2023 via distributors Open Road Films and Briarcliff Entertainment. With a production budget of €22.3 million, the film earned roughly €5.9 million globally and was met with largely unfavorable critiques from reviewers.

Plot

Set in Los Angeles during 1939, private eye Philip Marlowe is engaged by heiress Clare Cavendish to locate her missing lover, Nico Peterson, who works as a prop master at Pacific Film Studios. Marlowe uncovers that Peterson died after being struck outside the exclusive Corbata Club. When Marlowe informs Cavendish of this, she insists she recently saw Peterson alive in Tijuana. Annoyed by her evasiveness, Marlowe departs and encounters Cavendish's mother, former movie star Dorothy Quincannon.

At Peterson's gravesite, Marlowe meets a distressed woman who quickly escapes—Peterson’s sister Lynn. His acquaintance, homicide detective Joe Green, declines to investigate further, citing positive identification from club owner Floyd Hanson. Marlowe confronts Hanson at the club but gains no useful information. After spotting Lynn again, he arranges a meeting with her at the Cabana Club; their discussion is monitored by Hanson. Marlowe narrowly avoids an attack by two assailants.

Quincannon hires Marlowe independently to find Peterson, revealing her strained relationship with Cavendish stems from years of posing as her niece under the direction of Pacific’s owner Joseph O'Reilly. She shares that Peterson acted as talent agent for actress Amanda Toxteth, who reports that Peterson regularly smuggled cocaine from Tijuana. While breaking into Peterson’s residence, Marlowe and Lynn are ambushed by two Mexican men searching for someone named "Serena." Marlowe is rendered unconscious; Lynn is seized.

Drug kingpin Lou Hendricks and his associate Cedric capture Marlowe. Hendricks explains that Peterson smuggled drugs for him but absconded with a large cocaine shipment. Marlowe enlists police officer Bernie Ohls to assist in locating Lynn. Cavendish visits Marlowe attempting to seduce him; he refuses but consents to dance. Later, he tails her to a meeting with O'Reilly and encounters Quincannon, who harbors resentment toward her daughter’s liaison with the influential studio mogul.

Ohls informs Marlowe that Lynn was tortured and killed; tracing the perpetrators back to the Corbata Club, he unofficially supports Marlowe’s pursuit of justice. Marlowe confronts Hanson, who offers him a poisoned drink; after disposing of it, Marlowe pretends to be dead. Hanson transports him to a concealed location where Mexicans have been slain, Hendricks is being tortured, and Cedric is restrained. Hendricks reveals "Serena" refers to a mermaid statue hiding the stolen cocaine inside an adjacent fish tank. Marlowe frees Cedric; together they kill Hanson and his men, destroying the statue and drugs. When Hendricks threatens Cedric with lifelong debt over their loss, Cedric kills him.

Upon returning home, Marlowe discovers Peterson alive—his supposed corpse was actually a lookalike musician. Peterson denies responsibility for Lynn’s death and requests that Marlowe arrange a meeting with Cavendish at the studio’s prop house.

Peterson discloses plans to sell records of drug transactions conducted through the studio to the highest bidder, jeopardizing O'Reilly’s reputation. Cavendish betrays Peterson by setting fire to him and the evidence. Marlowe deduces she orchestrated Peterson’s death to ensure O'Reilly remains indebted to her. Rather than reporting her, he takes possession of her firearm.

Later, Cavendish ascends to vice president of the studio and seeks reconciliation with her mother, who has returned to acting. She offers Marlowe a position as head of security; he recommends Cedric for the role instead and entrusts Cedric with Cavendish’s gun for protection.

Production

Marlowe represents actor Liam Neeson's milestone 100th film appearance. The script, crafted by William Monahan, is an adaptation of the 2014 novel The Black-Eyed Blonde authored by John Banville. Neeson became attached to the project in March 2017, while director Neil Jordan committed to the film in June 2021. Additional casting announcements were made in November 2021.

Filming took place over a two-month period beginning in November 2021. Although the story is set in Los Angeles, exterior shots were captured in Barcelona, Spain, with interior scenes filmed in Dublin, Ireland. Director Jordan acknowledged the influence of the 1982 movie Blade Runner, seeking to create a stylized vision of historic Los Angeles, incorporating science fiction elements that shaped both the visual design and cinematography.

Release

Marlowe had its debut on 24 September 2022, serving as the closing feature at the 70th San Sebastián International Film Festival. Its original United States release date was planned for 2 December 2022 but was postponed to 15 February 2023.

Box office

During its opening weekend, the film grossed $1.8 million and accumulated $2.9 million over five days across 2,281 theaters, securing the eighth position at the box office.

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes, Marlowe holds a 26% approval rating based on 108 critiques, with an average score of 4.9 out of 10. The site's summary remarks: "While Liam Neeson fits the iconic role reasonably well, Marlowe does not succeed as either a compelling franchise continuation or an entertaining mystery." Meanwhile, Metacritic assigned a score of 41 out of 100 from 24 reviewers, reflecting "mixed or average reviews." Audience feedback gathered by PostTrak indicated a 51% positive rating, with only 27% expressing intent to recommend the film.

At the San Sebastián festival, Screen Daily commented that the screenplay by Jordan and Monahan "lacks sufficient cunning in its narrative twists and fails to offer a fresh take on its protagonist or the Los Angeles setting." Guy Lodge from Variety characterized the movie as "staunchly traditional in its period portrayal yet annoyingly postmodern in its attempts to appeal to viewers."

Following its theatrical run, opinions diverged: Richard Roeper of Chicago Sun-Times lauded the film's "premium production quality," engaging script, and compelling performances. In contrast, Mick LaSalle from San Francisco Chronicle condemned it as "a fundamentally flawed" endeavor with misguided casting decisions. Frank Scheck of The Hollywood Reporter concluded that although Marlowe contains authentic genre components, it "lacks the energy or cleverness to rise above a mediocre cover band's rendition of a classic pop tune."