Most of my experience with Netflix consists of me scrolling, scrolling, scrolling for something new to watch before nodding at my remote and clicking on The Office again. But once, one golden Sunday afternoon, I got in the mood for a good mystery and kept at it until I found Man From Reno. I think they took it off, but if you’ve never seen it, it is SO worth a $3.99 rent on Amazon. The experience left me with the most dangerous quality possible for a Netflix viewer: hope. So every now and again, I set out into the depths of the scroll with a determination. Nine times out of ten, I find nothing new or interesting. But the one time, Netflix delivers. And if you act quickly enough, you can catch three pretty badass private detective movies right now. Anyone into neo-noir can find some gumshoes digging through shadowy cities to solve some gritty mysteries.
The American Side (2016)
The American Side is directed by Jenna Ricker and stars character actor Greg Stuhr (who co-wrote the film with Ricker) as slightly sleazy Buffalo detective who begins the movie paying strippers to set up philandering husbands. When one of those strippers winds up dead, he gets pulled into a mystery involving Nikola Tesla. Robert Forster, Robert Vaughn, Janeane Garofalo, and Ferris Mother Fucking Bueller all show up along the way in what becomes a dizzying thriller. The action and plotlines get borderline confusing at times, to be honest; however, if we get honest about some of the best Chandler and Hammett, we could possibly say the same. Shot in a timeless vibe which feels vaguely 70s (but never commits to any period), The American Side boasts a stellar cast highlighted by Nikki Meeker and Camilla Belle who toy with the femme fatale motif like it’s a private eye trying to light their cigarette. But the real star of this show is Buffalo itself. The town is a character, which I know is almost trite to say about a movie with a sense of place, but this is the real deal. Niagara Falls, the bars, the streets all breathe life into every scene. This is some Walter Mosley peeling back the layers of L.A. level storytelling. If noir as a love letter to a city is your thing, then this is your thing.
City of Tiny Lights (2016)
City of Tiny Lights is directed by Pete Travis, who helmed the Dredd reboot, and written by Patrick Neate, based on his novel of the same name. What starts as a run-of-the-mill missing persons case for a mopey London private detective spirals into a complex mess of political conflict, religious fanatics, and haunted pasts. If mumblecore exists, I am tempted to dub this mumblenoir. The language of the London streets and the nocturnal filter of every scene makes it a touch hard to keep up with. BUT … driving the story are a set of wicked twists from Neate and, most importantly, Riz Ahmed (from The Night Of) as the central character, gumshoe Tommy Akhtar. Ahmed makes this movie, plain and simple. I would love to see what Neate could do working within a series of Tommy Akhtar books/movies, but I would pay good money to see Ahmed continue to play a private detective. Those eyes--haunted but always on the move, taking in every little thing. This is an understated, but magnificent performance in a quiet little film which deserves more recognition than it got back in 2016.
Small Town Crime (2017)
The newest of the three films (2017), Small Town Crimes, from Eshom and Ian Nelms, features character actor John Hawkes (Winter’s Bone, Three Billboards, etc.) as an alcoholic ex-cop who stumbles upon the body of a dead prostitute. The beginning of the movie is slow and hard to watch, but please do not give up on it. Just like most everyone is with Hawkes’ character Mike Kendall, you are going to be tempted to write it off, as you watch Kendall ruin his life from the bottom of a bottle. But both Kendall and the movie pick up quite a head of steam. As he slips into his redeeming role of private investigator, Kendall finds himself in the middle of a thriller involving blackmail and ruthless hitmen. Robert Forster shows up in this one, too, as does Anthony Anderson from Black-ish and Octavia Spencer. All three are great, but Clifton Collins, Jr., sort of steals the show as a pimp named Mood. Before you realize it, you’re riding shotgun with Mood on your way to a shootout to save an underaged prostitute. What starts as Leaving Las Vegas, ends like L.A. Confidential. It left me, like all three of these, wanting more Mike Kendall detective stories.
Netflix seems to pull movies a little too quickly for my taste, so don’t wait around. All three of these are good for a mystery fix, especially for fans of private eye noir.
Matt Coleman is a writer of crime novels and comedy. His debut mystery, Juggling Kittens, was named a Writer’s Bone book to watch in January of 2017. His second novel, Graffiti Creek, comes out August 8, 2018, from Pandamoon Publishing. Learn more at www.mattcolemanbooks.com.