In liverpool, eddie turns thirty one, and is bored with his life. So he runs an ad in the paper, offering his services as private investigator. Thirty five minutes in, a woman approaches him with a case. And the bodies start showing up in his apartment, so he heads to london, following up on clues. Not a lot of details being given. Lots of references to dash hammett, but this is much less polished than any hammett story. An hour in, we get a few more details, and start to see connections. A clever bit of banter between eddie and the secretary at his brother's company. That was probably the best part of the film! The rest of it was pretty slow and dry. Albert finney made this in between scrooge and orient express. The film was nominated for two baftas. Directed by stephen frears, who also did dangerous liaisons, the queen, and the grifters. It's okay... a mystery tale, tony rome style.
