This movie had me baffled, but it wasn't necessarily the plot. Fine that they lead you to suspect various characters as the murderer. Fine that yet again a cop falls in love with his investigative subject. That's all been done before, and this time it's to a classical movie soundtrack. What threw me was the setting. The cars seemed too old & frumpy (even for cops) for it to be a recent movie and the clothes didn't provide any major clues. I figured it was 5 to 8 years old - and was shocked to find it a recent release! Worse yet, it's always dark and usually rainy regardless of the time of day. This is supposed to be Philadelphia, not Seattle, but even the city looks wrong. For one thing, the skyline is missing the major skyscrapers built over a decade ago - did they recycle old footage and film this thing on a lot somewhere? Entryways and security systems, the radio station, and even the restaurant all seem dated, giving this movie a rather clunky feel. Worse yet, the pacing is slow & plodding, the plot never really that surprising, and the characters painfully stereotyped. Furthermore, all the suspects look and dress alike. Was there a sale on brown haired guys with floppy haircuts? And could the detective please shave once in a while? What were they thinking with this movie? The whole project feels like it sat on a shelf for a decade like a bottle of dusty wine. Molly Ringwald looks good and the classical music sounds good, but that's about all the niceties I have to offer about this film.
Review of Requiem for Murder
