A Crime story is following individuals working at a cheap hotel. There’s certainly an ensemble ambition about the film as the characters are really odd and they interact with each other in strange ways. And in strange I mean ways that are supposed to be humorous. I often don’t get it though. It’s such dry humor that the Sahara would be jealous about it. To me, it’s more a portrayal of characters than their collective existence.
Anyway, one day, they somehow get their hand on a load of drugs belonging to one mafia or the other. There seems to be different groups, all wanting to get their hands on it. Or at least wanting the money it’s worth to their own faction. To make this a humorous story is in theory a very good and entertaining idea, but it really never lifts off. It’s never really funny and the cinematography is boring. The image is so grey and “unlively” it becomes a challenge to sit through it.
There are a few famous actors in A Crime Story though, which make good interpretations of their roles but it never gains that extra touch that would have been needed to make this a really entertaining movie. In fact, I had to pause it half way though because I couldn’t take it anymore at that particular time. It’s hard to say if it’s the direction that is at fault or if it’s just a script written in such a way that it’s beyond rescue (to some extent).
There are sequences that are more entertaining than the others of course. And there are also certain punchlines (in lack of a better word) that hit right where they should. But as a whole I think that A Crime Story didn’t live up to the trailer at all. From the trailer I figured this was a witty and absurd tale about a few nobody’s managing to traffic more drugs than the cartels were managing to without even trying or knowing how to do it.
Finally, there’s a few more layers, twists and turns on the characters and the storyline than necessary. It becomes hard to follow and seldom has the phrase less is more been more appropriate.
