Law & Order: Criminal Intent (TV Series) Silver Lining (2004) User Reviews

Characters Are Not Who They Seem To Be At First

[ccthemovieman-1 · 8/10 · 17 June 2008]

Stealing silverware doesn't sound too bad a crime, at least one to warrant a TV episode on it, but it does in this case. It leads indirectly to murder. Thrown into the mix of this story is an expert cat burglar, so good at stealing silverware he can taunt the police; and a chain of women helping him, the last one throwing a major twist in the story.

This story starts slowly and one could get bored with all the "appraisal" talk and other technical jargon, but stay with it because it gets better and better. The last third is very good and ties together a pretty complex story with a number of subplots. Kudos to all the actors who play those not-exactly-what-they-seem characters and do an excellent job with them.

Not wanting to give away a couple of the surprises, I'll just say the episode turned out much better than I first thought with the major characters not being what they seem to be. Usually, "Criminal Intent" is a thinking person's show and this episode is no exception.

Note: I'm aware, even though I watch these shows in order that lead actor Vincent D'Onofrio started taking time off from this show either this year or next year, so it got my attention when "Det. Goren" started unraveling a tiny bit in this episode. Is that the forerunner of things to come as an excuse to give his character time off down the road?

Hope is for suckers, detective

[Mrpalli77 · 8/10 · 12 September 2017]

Two thieves are bounded by stealing silver instead of gold. The man (David Harbour) is a piece of work who sells all the stuffs stolen in the black market and hides the bucks below ground (a great amount of money); he seems to be a lady's man, a cold blooded guy who isn't afraid of the consequences of his acts. Instead the girl (Callie Thorne), daughter of a Marine Corps sergeant, is in love with him and during the episode her jealousy comes to light. Boring at first, this episode deserves to be seen towards the end.

More than silver in quality

[TheLittleSongbird · 8/10 · 17 September 2020]

Like to love almost all of the previous Season 4 episodes of 'Law and Order: Criminal Intent', a great show when at its best (which was mostly the earlier seasons). With the only disappointments being "Eosphoros" and "In the Dark". Anybody else that was blown away by the previous episode (and a season high point) "Magnifcat", like me, will undoubtedly expect a lot from "Silver Lining", even if reading the premise for this episode doesn't hit as hard as the one for that.

"Silver Lining" for me wasn't as good as that episode. It didn't quite have its emotional impact, hard hitting edge or tension, nor did it have supporting performances quite as memorable. Things that were also present in other superior Season 4 episodes "Semi-Detached" and "Want". Is that disparaging its quality as an episode on its own terms? Absolutely not, as "Silver Lining" is still a very good episode in its own way, without comparing it to anything else, with lots to admire.

It is a bit of a slow starter, the storytelling on the thin side to begin with and bogged down by a little too much jargon.

However, it is a slickly made episode as usual with the photography's intimacy not being too filmed play-like. The music isn't overused or overpowering and suits the tone of the show aptly. The script is mostly taut and really made me think on each of the four viewings had of this particular episode. That final line is quite chilling.

The story is mostly compelling. Once the case gets going it's clever and keeps one interested, with characters and events turning out to not be what they seem. There are some good scenes here in "Silver Lining" as well, the Eames-led interrogation, the meeting between Goren and the husband and the stakeout. Not to mention that cute and very funny touch with Goren and the files, that apparently was improvised. The characters are all well written, with a quite fascinating perpetrator in particularly why they behave the way they do, Goren dominates but doesn't so too much.

Vincent D'Onofrio and Kathryn Erbe are both on top. David Harbour again proves that he can do creepy effectively, having done a creepy performance in the 'Special Victims Unit' episode "Dolls".

On the whole, not one of the season's best but very well done. 8/10