IMDb plot summary: Two years after being forced out of NYPD, quirky Nick is rehired by the mayor to catch a serial killer after the 11th murder of a woman.
Directed by Pat O'Connor. Starring Kevin Kline, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, and Susan Sarandon.
The January Man stars Kevin Kline as a renowned former detective who took the fall for his brother's fraud and is now, years later, is controversially reinstated to help catch a serial killer. This script was written by John Patrick Shanley, who I frequently love, but this script definitely feels a little half-baked and can't quite land on its tone. The best moments are the more playful ones, particularly the interactions between Kline and his artist neighbor, played by Alan Rickman. But both the mystery and romance portions of the story are woefully underdeveloped. The mystery is so laughable I genuinely thought it was going to be a story of protagonist hubris when he was proven wrong, and Kline's romance with two different women is abruptly dropped whenever it's convenient. I don't usually suggest movies should be longer -- I enjoy a tight script -- but this definitely felt like there were about 15 minutes missing which could help patch up some of these holes. A strange and uneven movie with a couple high points.
How it entered my Flickchart:
The January Man < The Keep
The January Man > The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane
The January Man > Flypaper
The January Man < Venom
The January Man > Spy
The January Man > Superman
The January Man < Notorious
The January Man > Isadora
The January Man < Moonstruck
The January Man < Camelot
The January Man < Fish Tank
The January Man > Marathon
Final spot: #2035 out of 3547, or 43%.
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