Director: Andy Goddard

Screenplay: Susan Boyd

Cast: Jessica Biel, Patrick Wilson, Haley Bennett, Eddie Marsan, Vincent Kartheiser

Strength: Thriller, Acting, Cast, Cinematography

Weakness: Ending, plotline

Runtime: 88mins

Rating: 6/10

Plot: An architect by profession and a crime -story passionate writer gets enthralled by a man who is suspected for murdering his wife. Thus, the writer's passion leads him to get rid from his unhappy marriage with his unstable wife.

Review: The movie A Kind of Murder is based on the novel "The Blunderer" by Patricia Highsmith. Walter Stackhouse (Patrick Wilson) is frustrated by his wife Clara Stackhouse (Jessica Beil). His wife acts as a mentally disturbed woman, who doesn't let her husband get close to her and at the same time suspects him unconditionally. Eddie Marsan's portrayal of Mr Kimmel is obvious from the beginning that he killed his wife. The first murder makes it obvious for the audience to predict how the second one might have been held. However, the story is thrilling from the beginning but gradually seems to lose its pace. Its ending was abnormally abrupt and vague. A little more effort on the twists of the story could have had made it better. 

The acting of the cast along with their projected emotions were flawless. Although Jessica Beil was only present during the first half of the movie, she was successful in making the audience feel what a maddening and provoking wife she can be to bear. At one point her actions towards her husband made him the sympathetic one, given the idea he might have had killed her brutally. Eddie Marsan's acting was very praiseworthy indeed. As the movie seemed to be based on the 1960's novel, Haley Benett's appearance in the movie didn't seem like one. The cinematography of the movie was marvelous emphasizing on the winters of New York. The movie seems to be inconsistent in terms of predicting the pace and the short length which seems to create a major feebleness. Hence, the thrilling essence and the cast made the story an admirable piece overall.



Reviewed by: Sumaiya Akhter Nitu