Arthur Hailey's Detective

2005
5.7| 2h51m| PG-13| en
Details

Detective Sergeant Malcolm Ainslie, a Catholic priest turned distinguished investigator for the police, has agreed to hear the confession of a convicted serial killer sentenced to death in a just a matter of hours. What he promises to reveal to Ainslie is the truth behind the crimes and the reason he confessed to the one crime Ainslie doesn't even believe he committed. What unfolds between the two men is a serpentine trail into both men's pasts based on the bestseller from master storyteller Arthur Hailey.

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Reviews

UnowPriceless hyped garbage
Executscan Expected more
ChicRawIdol A brilliant film that helped define a genre
StyleSk8r At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.
webmaster-1615 not a bad movie. just not a good one. it is tolerable, the kind of movie you will end up watching if you are sick in bed and can't find the remote. it's a "movie of the week" paced like a mini-series event scheduled during sweeps. Tom Berenger is good (as he always is) and Cybill Shepherd is, well, Cybill Shepherd. Annabeth Gish is totally wasted. She seems to actually be absent through most of her performance except for the occasional shrill outburst towards the end. You can't really blame the actors because the real flaw is the story line and script: back-to-back pointless and clichéd conversations that do nothing to move the plot along.
Ray Massart Three hours of utterly wasted time.Berenger was obviously bored as never before and utters his lines with a kind of guilty embarrassment for having accepted the part.After a succession of brutal murders by a serial killer with which the movie starts, the action and suspense grind to a halt: the police follow four possible suspects, who are all weirdos and inspired by a form of religious insanity. The very long and tedious discussions concerning the murder weapon and the repetitive and alternating confrontations between Berenger and his wife and mistress are detrimental to the dramatic intensity.Furthermore, the basic theme of the priest turned cop may have seemed like a gimmick to the producers but it doesn't work with an audience.The viewer also sees through the plot quite early on and the ending is more than predictable. There is nothing really exceptional about this movie apart from the fact that it is hard to accept that it was ever made in the first place.
JEAN REED It's so good to see Tom Berenger in a role that's perfect for him, although he's top notch in anything he does. This one, as a priest turned detective, and as a family man, could not have been more suitable. Ainsley not only solves these brutal murders, but has to try to reconcile with his wife, and make his young son understand why his job keeps him from home so much of the time.. He handles all facets of this like the pro that he is. I still cannot understand why Hallmark never released this in the USA, and chose to send it directly to DVD. They very tastefully removed the gore that was in the book, which made it suitable for even the Hallmark Channel. Well written and suspenseful, with an excellent cast it followed Arthur Hailey's book to the T!
Catherine Tom Berenger is once again a great detective. Like his characters Michael Keegan (Someone To Watch Over Me), Harry Dobbs (Love @ Large), Clifford DeBose (A Murder of Crows), and Rem Macy (True Blue)- his wit, take-charge attitude, and Noble authority - combined with his personal side - give depth to what could have been a staid character. Most of the supporting cast were perfectly cast. I was pleased to see that the movie kept very closely to the book, except for Malcolm's turning atheist. Was even more pleased that Hallmark did not show gruesome close-ups like was shown in Tom Berenger's Eye See You. Mr. Berenger shines in Alex Haley's Detective. A great movie to watch and re-watch :)

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