The Singing Detective

  • 2003


MOVIE IS colorful expansive musical compositional paranoid
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26 %
39 % Rotten
$ 1 Million
See Where to Watch The Singing Detective
Positive Reviews 28
Negative reviews 18
Average Rating 2.8/5
colorful expansive musical compositional paranoid

  • All
  • Positive
  • Negative
3.2
Robert Downey Jr. is great in a role no one less magnetically reckless would dare approach. EW
3.8
When I saw it at Sundance, my attention was divided because I was trying to process the meaning of the jagged structure. Seeing it again a week ago, k .. Rogerebert
1.9
Overall Criterions Bruce Lee set is as wonderful as youve heard, boasting definitive restorations and enough supplements for at least two semesters wo ..
2.0
Perpetually feels as if it were a good idea that was never fully thought through.
1.0
The movie Road to Perdition could have been. If Road to Perdition sucked. E Film Critic
2.5
The Singing Detective is a film of individual outstanding scenes. San Francisco Chronicle
3.5
I would rather sit through mountains of creative plot shenanigans as peppered through this movie than watch yet another drone sequel. JoBlo
3.1
Without the breathing spaces allowed by the long form, gone are the slow and developing rhythms of the original, its depth of characterization, and it .. The Globe And Mail
0.5
A cinematic belly flop rather than a beautiful swan dive...to emulate the bad hard boiled dialogue, youre going to need buns of steel to sit through s .. One Guys Opinion
4.5
The problems come in the shadow world, where everythings a jumble, where Darks compositional strategy (all clues and no solutions) eventually becomes .. Village Voice
3.8
A fine example of entertainment an eclectic mix of drama, film noir, and comedy, with plenty of fantasy musical numbers thrown in for good measure. ReelViews
1.0
Coarse and misguided, Keith Gordons film of the late Dennis Potters own reworking of his intricate, dyspeptic, 1986 miniseries is a failure on every l .. Tv Guide
3.8
Watching Robert Downey Jr. perform is one of the great pleasures of going to the movies today. Combust Ible Celluloid
2.8
the big screen version seems rushed as they try to pack their ten pounds of sugar into a five pound bag
1.9
...unless youre intimately familiar with either the book or seven hour British mini series that came before it, the films not going to mean much to yo .. Reel Film Reviews
3.0
The film uneasily skims the surface like a stone over water, hitting highlights at random. News Review
3.0
But the excellent cast makes it entertaining and often extremely touching. Shadows On The Wall
2.5
The Singing Detective is an expansive tale, layering at least three levels of storytelling into a hauntingly complex narrative. Cs Monitor
1.5
Its unfair, if inevitable, to compare this off off Hollywood indie with the BBC opus, but even on its own terms, The Singing Detective hits sour notes .. Film Journal International ..
1.9
Some of his ideas are not good, and theres also a real ugliness and nastiness to some of this material thats pretty off putting. Deseret News (Salt Lake Ci ..
3.2
The most genre bending film in recent memory is so bold and risky that its a shame the diverse elements of the plot do not mesh. Internet Reviews
2.5
True, Gordon is working from Potters own adapted script, but its hard to shake the sense that the writer may simply have been trolling for a Hollywood .. Boston
1.9
Any sober viewers trying to follow this mishmash mystery are going to wish theyd brought along a cache of aspirin. Star Tribune
2.0
While the general contours of Potters original story are intact, theyve lost all their transitional graces. Toronto Star
1.5
Fans of the classic Dennis Potter BBC miniseries: Stay far, far away from this pale, Americanized imitation. Salon
3.0
Threading two distinct performances with an instinctive flippancy, hes also the perfect mouthpiece for Potters bone dry humour. Bbc
1.5
Audacious, original, genre bending and potentially thought provoking, full of strong performances and inventive cinematography. Unfortunately, its als .. Las Vegas Weekly
2.0
For all the amazing lengths Downey and Gibson go to, the two actors seem to exist in a vacuum, for this stiff film is virtually devoid of a sense of t .. Calendar Live
2.5
Despite his harrowing real life experiences, Downey, good as he is, is simply too young for the part. This callow telling begs for a more mature appro .. Seattle Pi
2.5
The films colorful song and dance set pieces rely on lip synced 50s songs that are the weakest link in a bumbling but gregarious movie. Coles Mithey
3.8
While some may read miscarriage into this films discombobulation...theres astute, cerebral cinema with a wicked sense of humor lurking (here) for thos .. Spliced Wire
3.8
The Singing Detective is a movie to talk about with friends afterwards Movie Habit
3.8
A film deserving of a conversation and, in no higher praise, of unreasonable comparisons. Film Freak Central
1.5
Potters script pares down to virtual nothing the very narrative threads that allowed us, in the full length version, to identify with his prickly prot .. La Weekly
3.0
Downey gives it all hes got in his paranoid rages tempered by fictional cool. Varia Gate
4.4
A quirky film that combines comedy, drama, film noir, and musical numbers in such a way that they form something quite unlike your typical Hollywood m .. Three Movie Buffs
3.8
Downey spits nails as the pain ridden Dark, and masters the Raymond Chandler esque dialogue and mannerisms of Darks pulp creation. Sltrib
1.5
The Singing Detective gives you the feeling that someone took a handful of disparate films, chucked them into a blender and poured the results onto th .. Guide Live
4.4
The new Singing Detective mirrors Potters growth as well as his originality, and moving from television to silver screen feels like a rewarding round .. Denver Post
3.5
Ceaselessly flamboyant and interesting, but also repetitive and obvious with the character insights it provides. Film Blather
4.5
Despite a pair of spectacular characterizations by Mel Gibson and Robert Downey Jr., the film version of Dennis Potters BBC miniseries plays a little .. IGN Movies
1.5
While great brilliance was invested in The Singing Detective, its stumbling at the finish line harms the overall success of the film. IGN Movies
3.5
The Singing Detective is like a dream that you are still a little confused by when you wake up. Its not for everyone, but its a fun ride if you dive i .. Film Force Ign
4.1
Robert Downey Jr. goes into Johnny Depp territory with a great performance that is at once antic and next turning on the tears with ease. Fantastic A Daily
3.8
Whenever the movie seems about to say something profound, it backs off and goes in another direction. The movie winds up as a tantalizing but incomple .. Arizona Daily Star
0.5
Why anybody would want remake the 1986 BBC mini series ... is beyond me....A tragic misfire. World Film About
3.8
Worth seeing on the basis of its cast alone, although the characters being played are often so impressionistic, even the superstar lineup ends up bein .. Boston Herald
3.5
Though it doesnt work completely, it still has more creative energy than any half dozen Hollywood blockbusters you can think of from the past summer. Journal News (Westchester, ..
1.9
Potters gaze into the mans dark sexual and familial secrets isnt about one mans oppression, but about his self imposed melodrama. Toxic Universe
3.0
A brow furrowing exercise in keeping up with the Darks, punctuated by random and alarming seediness and mysterious characters. Afterward, you apprecia .. Cinerina
3.0
This film seems confused to the point that it is impossible to come to grips with the intriguing study of one mans fetid psyche which the film is supp .. The List
2.5
Robert Downey, Jr. is the only saving grace of this incoherent crime caper based on the classic British mini series. Auf Muth



See Where to Watch The Singing Detective