Russell Crowe is back in theatres for the second time in a little over a month, but instead of fighting evil, he’s fighting to remember in the new crime/thriller, Sleeping Dogs – out now in cinemas through Rialto Distribution Australia.
Retired and suffering from acute memory loss, ex-homicide detective, Roy Freeman, is asked by a prisoner awaiting execution for a brutal murder to re-investigate their case, which sets Roy on a dark journey into his past.
Christopher Nolan’s non-linear classic Memento quickly springs to mind while watching this mystery, and it doesn’t help that the home of our handicapped hero is covered with daily reminders written on strips of masking tape. However, Sleeping Dogs follows a straight path so there’s little to grapple with in terms of the film’s narrative structure. Viewers follow Roy as he tries to piece together details from someone else’s life, and his own while living in a world full of guilty people trying to forget. The lengths our lead goes to for memory improvement when contrast with those who hide their past acts is a unique and interesting hook for fans of the genre. However, the film often feels like an amalgamation of titles past and present, especially paperback pulp novels. There’s a light neo-noir aesthetic and our cast of characters, while not exactly stereotypes, are on that typical checklist. Yet overall, the film did manage to keep me engaged and Crowe does most of the heavy lifting as the sympathetic lead and reunites with Gladiator co-star Tommy Flanagan, who I used to confuse with Johnny Depp.
I am enjoying this more humbled version of Russell Crowe, who is embracing lower-budget cinema. While I enjoyed his performance as the fractured Roy, I really wanted to see more of him as a crooked cop, which we get glimpses of in numerous flashbacks. A whole movie about police corruption (not that we need another) with him as the lead in full rage mode would be fantastic.
Surprisingly, Sleeping Dogs is shot in Melbourne, which will be obvious to many Australian viewers. Although oddly, once I recognized it, my mind switched to the film being entirely Australian despite the array of American accents. Perhaps my state’s capital does not allow for much suspension of disbelief.
Sleeping Dogs is a middle-of-the-road feature, which I think will at the very least satisfy its target audience. It’s not particularly great, but it has mood and sombre feelings of regret and redemption.
You can catch Sleeping Dogs at select screens across Australia, but at only two locations in Melbourne strangely, and to find your nearest venue and session time – visit flick.com.au
SLEEPING DOGS
(2024, director: Adam Cooper)
★★★
production stills courtesy of Rialto Distribution
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