''A Kind of Murder'' is a 2016 American
mystery
Mystery, The Mystery, Mysteries or The Mysteries may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters
*Mystery, a cat character in ''Emily the Strange''
Films
* ''Mystery'' (2012 film), a 2012 Chinese drama film
* ''Mystery'' ( ...
thriller film
Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre ...
, directed by
Andy Goddard
Andy Goddard (born 1968) is a Welsh director and screenwriter, best known for writing and directing his feature debut '' Set Fire to the Stars'' (2014) and directing and co-producing his second feature '' A Kind of Murder'' (2016). Goddard has a ...
from a screenplay by Susan Boyd. It is based upon the 1954
Patricia Highsmith
Patricia Highsmith (January 19, 1921 – February 4, 1995) was an American novelist and short story writer widely known for her psychological thrillers, including her series of five novels featuring the character Tom Ripley.
She wrote 22 novel ...
novel ''
The Blunderer''. It stars
Patrick Wilson
Patrick Joseph Wilson (born July 3, 1973) is an American actor and director. He began his career in 1995, starring in Broadway musicals. He received nominations for two Tony Awards for his roles in ''The Full Monty'' (2000–2001) and ''Oklahoma ...
,
Jessica Biel
Jessica Claire Timberlake ( née Biel ; born March 3, 1982) is an American actress and model. She has received various accolades, including a Young Artist Award, and nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award and two Golden Globe Awards.
Bie ...
,
Vincent Kartheiser,
Haley Bennett
Haley Loraine Keeling (born January 7, 1988), known professionally as Haley Bennett, is an American actress. She made her film debut in the romantic comedy ''Music and Lyrics'' (2007) and has since appeared in films such as '' The Equalizer'' (2 ...
, and
Eddie Marsan
Edward Maurice Charles Marsan (born 9 June 1968) is an English actor. He won the London Film Critics Circle Award and the National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actor for the film '' Happy-Go-Lucky'' (2008).
He has feature ...
. The film had its world premiere at the
Tribeca Film Festival
The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by Tribeca Productions. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive programming. Tribeca was f ...
on April 17, 2016.
The film was released in the United States on December 16, 2016, by
Magnolia Pictures
Magnolia Pictures is an American film distributor. It is a subsidiary of Mark Cuban and Todd Wagner's 2929 Entertainment.
Magnolia was formed in 2001 by Bill Banowsky and Eamonn Bowles, and specializes in both foreign and independent films. Ma ...
.
Plot
Walter Stackhouse is an architect by day, and an aspiring writer by night. He writes short-story crime fiction and is fascinated by a recent murder of a local woman. He meets her husband by visiting the man's used bookstore. Stackhouse has a troubled marriage, and his wife turns up dead. The police detective investigating both deaths suspects each husband of killing his wife, and a possible connection between the two crimes.
Cast
*
Patrick Wilson
Patrick Joseph Wilson (born July 3, 1973) is an American actor and director. He began his career in 1995, starring in Broadway musicals. He received nominations for two Tony Awards for his roles in ''The Full Monty'' (2000–2001) and ''Oklahoma ...
as Walter Stackhouse
*
Jessica Biel
Jessica Claire Timberlake ( née Biel ; born March 3, 1982) is an American actress and model. She has received various accolades, including a Young Artist Award, and nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award and two Golden Globe Awards.
Bie ...
as Clara Stackhouse
*
Vincent Kartheiser as Detective Lawrence Corby
*
Haley Bennett
Haley Loraine Keeling (born January 7, 1988), known professionally as Haley Bennett, is an American actress. She made her film debut in the romantic comedy ''Music and Lyrics'' (2007) and has since appeared in films such as '' The Equalizer'' (2 ...
as Ellie Briess
*
Eddie Marsan
Edward Maurice Charles Marsan (born 9 June 1968) is an English actor. He won the London Film Critics Circle Award and the National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actor for the film '' Happy-Go-Lucky'' (2008).
He has feature ...
as Marty Kimell
* Jon Osbeck as Jon Carr
* Radek Lord as Tony Ricco
* Christine Dye as Claudia
* Michael Douglas Hall as Mr. Devries
Production
In February 2013, it was revealed that
Andy Goddard
Andy Goddard (born 1968) is a Welsh director and screenwriter, best known for writing and directing his feature debut '' Set Fire to the Stars'' (2014) and directing and co-producing his second feature '' A Kind of Murder'' (2016). Goddard has a ...
had been attached to direct the film, from a screenplay by Susan Boyd, with
Ted Hope
Ted Hope (born 1962) is an American independent film producer based in New York City. He is best known for co-founding the production/sales company Good Machine, where he produced the first films of such notable filmmakers as Ang Lee, Nicole H ...
,
Christine Vachon
Christine Vachon (; born November 21, 1962) is an American film producer active in the American independent film sector.
Christine Vachon produced Todd Haynes' first feature, ''Poison'', which was awarded the Grand Jury Prize at the 1991 Sundan ...
, and Kelly McCormick producing under their
Killer Films
Killer Films is a New York City-based independent film production company founded by movie producers Christine Vachon and Pamela Koffler in 1995. The company has produced a number of the most acclaimed American independent films over the past tw ...
and Sierra Pictures banner, respectively. In May 2014, it was announced that
Patrick Wilson
Patrick Joseph Wilson (born July 3, 1973) is an American actor and director. He began his career in 1995, starring in Broadway musicals. He received nominations for two Tony Awards for his roles in ''The Full Monty'' (2000–2001) and ''Oklahoma ...
,
Jessica Biel
Jessica Claire Timberlake ( née Biel ; born March 3, 1982) is an American actress and model. She has received various accolades, including a Young Artist Award, and nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award and two Golden Globe Awards.
Bie ...
,
Imogen Poots
Imogen Gay Poots (born 3 June 1989) is an English actress and model. She played Tammy in the post-apocalyptic horror film ''28 Weeks Later'' (2007), Linda Keith in the Jimi Hendrix biopic '' Jimi: All Is by My Side'' (2013), Debbie Raymond in ...
and
Toby Jones
Tobias Edward Heslewood Jones''Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1916–2005.''; at ancestry.com (born 7 September 1966) is an English actor. Jones made his film debut in Sally Potter's period drama '' Orlando'' in 1992. H ...
had been cast in the film. In November 2014,
Haley Bennett
Haley Loraine Keeling (born January 7, 1988), known professionally as Haley Bennett, is an American actress. She made her film debut in the romantic comedy ''Music and Lyrics'' (2007) and has since appeared in films such as '' The Equalizer'' (2 ...
joined the cast of the film, replacing Poots. That same month,
Eddie Marsan
Edward Maurice Charles Marsan (born 9 June 1968) is an English actor. He won the London Film Critics Circle Award and the National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actor for the film '' Happy-Go-Lucky'' (2008).
He has feature ...
joined the cast of the film, replacing Jones. In August 2015, the film was re-titled "A Kind of Murder".
Filming
Principal photography
Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production.
Personnel
Besides the main film personnel, such as a ...
began on November 17, 2014 in
Cincinnati
Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
, Ohio, under the title "The Blunderer". In December 2014, a casting call was put out for 1950 cars, and male extras. Production concluded on December 16, 2014.
Post-production
In June 2015, it was reported that Danny Bensi and Saunder Jurriaans had composed the score for the film.
Release
The film had its world premiere at the
Tribeca Film Festival
The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by Tribeca Productions. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive programming. Tribeca was f ...
on April 17, 2016. Shortly after,
Magnolia Pictures
Magnolia Pictures is an American film distributor. It is a subsidiary of Mark Cuban and Todd Wagner's 2929 Entertainment.
Magnolia was formed in 2001 by Bill Banowsky and Eamonn Bowles, and specializes in both foreign and independent films. Ma ...
acquired distribution rights to the film. The film was released on December 16, 2016.
Reception
On
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
the film has an approval rating of 35% based on reviews from 17 critics. On
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...
the film has a score of 50% based on reviews from 7 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".
Nick Schager of ''
Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' wrote: "While thrills are mitigated by convoluted plotting and suspect character behavior, the film's uniquely bleak twist on classic noir conventions is enlivening."
John DeFore of ''
The Hollywood Reporter
''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly larg ...
'' called it "A handsome period piece that plays more like a scant-clues mystery than like the psychological thriller it intends to be."
See also
* ''
Enough Rope
''Enough Rope with Andrew Denton'' (often shortened to ''Enough Rope'') is a television interview show originally broadcast on ABC1 in Australia. The title of the show came from the phrase " give someone enough rope and they'll hang themselves ...
'' (1963)
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kind Of Murder, A
2016 films
2010s mystery thriller films
American thriller drama films
American independent films
American mystery thriller films
Films based on American novels
Films based on works by Patricia Highsmith
Films set in New York City
Films set in the 1960s
Films shot in Kentucky
Films shot in Ohio
Films produced by Christine Vachon
Killer Films films
2010s English-language films
2010s American films