‘Detained’ Review: A Crime Thriller That Isn’t All That Thrilling
Quentin Tarantino has made a career out of elevating grindhouse fare for the arthouse crowd. I love his style and count some of his films among my all-time favorites. Given how influential the Kill Bill director is, there are plenty of filmmakers looking to ape the look and feel of his films. I can’t say for sure that’s what co-writer and director Felipe Mucci was shooting for with his new film, Detained. But I get that impression. Detained is a gritty, twist-filled crime thriller that unfolds via a nonlinear timeline. That suggests to me that the filmmakers may have been inspired by Tarantino. At the very least, they took inspiration from some of the same places Tarantino mines for ideas. Sometimes, imitation reads as the sincerest form of flattery. Other times, the finished product is a muddled homage that doesn’t stand on its own. Unfortunately, Detained is a case of the latter.
Detained follows a woman called Rebecca (Abbie Cornish) as she regains consciousness at a police station. She’s not sure how she got there. But Rebecca stands accused of crimes that carry a substantial penalty. The officers on duty attempt to pump her for information. But seeing as she has no memory of the events that landed here there, Rebecca isn’t much help. However, the more time she spends at the station, the more convinced Rebecca becomes that something is amiss.
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Although Detained didn’t work for me, I get that art is subjective and that there is an audience for almost anything. So, I want to ensure prospective viewers have the best chance of connecting with the film. With that in mind, I will be deliberately vague with descriptions of narrative developments to ensure anyone planning to watch Detained gets the most bang for their buck.
Before I get too deep into the nuts and bolts, I want to commend Mucci and co-writer Jeremy Palmer for their efforts. It’s clear each possesses a level of talent. And I could see that at various points throughout. However, the film they set out to make is perhaps more ambitious than the budget they were working with allowed. Tarantino’s crime thrillers typically aren’t cheap to make. They work so well because his screenplays are airtight; the editing is near-perfect; and the performances are always immersive. Bringing all those elements together is often costly and much easier said than done.
I think Mucci and Palmer might have benefited from scaling the narrative back and focusing on fewer characters. That would have saved monetary resources and would have likely made the finished product more streamlined. As it stands, too many of the tertiary players add little to the story.
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Another issue I have is that the film doesn’t have a compelling lead or any supporting characters that function as the least bit relatable. Tarantino’s characters may not always be likable when you meet them. But you can bet your bottom dollar they’re going to make you feel something and they will likely grow on you as their arc unfolds. None of the characters here have a particularly noteworthy arc. No one really grows from their experience or learns anything. The entire picture is hinged on a series of twists as if that makes up for the lack of character development and absence of any personal growth.
I also had a hard time with the lack of logic on display in a number of scenes. In one sequence, a character wields a loose razor blade between their thumb and forefinger as a weapon and the character against whom the weapon is being wielded perceives that as a credible threat. It’s hard not to laugh. Sure, a razor blade can do some damage. But it’s pretty tough to get much leverage on a weapon when you can only brandish it between two fingers. Watching a character with the upper hand begin to cower at the sight of a weapon that isn’t nearly as threatening as it’s made out to be did little to immerse me in the narrative.
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The final piece that really got me is that the twists aren’t surprising. I guessed the big reveal early on and picked up on a few other developments before the core characters did. I would be less frustrated if the entire film didn’t hinge on the success of these twists. However, the filmmakers sometimes sacrifice character development and logic in favor of preserving the big reveal. So, I was left hoping for something more than what we got.
The bar for this type of film has been set pretty high. That makes the film’s shortcomings somewhat understandable. But despite being able to empathize with the plight of the filmmakers, Detained simply didn’t work for me.
If you’re keen to scope the flick, you can find it playing in select theaters and on VOD now.
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‘Detained'
Summary
This crime thriller is DOA.
Categorized:Reviews
