Sketch Artist

1992
5.1| 1h28m| en
Details

A sketch artist for the police helps a witness recall who she saw leaving the scene of a murder, and discovers that the person is his wife. Not willing to believe she was responsible, he resketches the pictures so they don't look like her, and he begins his own investigation of the murder.

Director

Producted By

Motion Picture Corporation of America

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Reviews

Kidskycom It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.
Dynamixor The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.
Usamah Harvey The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.
Bumpy Chip It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.
bregund Oh yeah? You know, you might want to mention that little tidbit, I don't know, towards the beginning of the film instead of waiting for the very end. Suddenly Jeff Fahey's character is an earring designer, how convenient. And as a sketch artist, he is naturally granted complete access to the crime scene, even though he has no reason for being there. Oh, he's there to do a floor plan. Right. After forensics has been through taking thousands of photographs, suddenly the sketch artist is granted access to do a floor plan. Have they ever asked him to do a floor plan before? His car-sized partner is sent to arrest him, even though it's clearly a conflict of interest, and instead of arresting him he allows him to merrily skip around town stealing cars and looking for the extremely obvious killer, something that the incompetent detectives are somehow completely incapable of doing because they're, you know, stupid, while Jeff Fahey's character is qualified to solve the crime because he employs all of his skills as a sketch artist. Yes, it's all as dumb as it sounds, and even the payoff leaves one wanting; what is Sean Young's motivation for cheating, she could just as easily have walked out on her husband, there was no reason for her to stay with him.
ManBehindTheMask63 Sketch Artist is a rare and hard to find TV movie that is vastly under rated. Jeff Fahey plays the lead role and turns in a solid performance (even sporting his epic mullet and smoking a LOT of cigarettes). There are some fine supporting actors like Drew Barrymore, Sean Young, and Charlotte Lewis. The film plays like a big budget sex thriller and keeps the suspense and double crosses high. Its one of the better thrillers I've seen recently. Another good flick to check out is Past Midnight with Rutger Hauer. Added to the queue and enjoy. Great soundtrack as well. The sequel ("hands that see death") isn't as enjoyable but is competently made.
moonspinner55 Jeff Fahey has such alert eyes and a smudgy, insidious smile that every character he plays seems villainous; therefore, it doesn't really work to cast him as the good guy of the piece, the audience is just waiting for his character to crack and start blowing people away. Drew Barrymore, fresh off her acclaimed role as "Poison Ivy", must have done this film simply as a favor to director Phedon Papamichael (he was the cinematographer on "Ivy"); playing a character named Daisy Drew (!), she's bumped off right away, which leaves us with no one to look at but Jeff Fahey and Sean Young (who hasn't had a single subtle moment on camera since "Blade Runner"). This witless script, by Michael Angeli, concerns a police sketch artist who draws his own wife's face from a murder witness's testimony, and while that's not a bad idea for a plot, it would be much better suited to an hour-long TV series. This cable-made movie is short on inspiration (beginning with the casting) and shorter on surprises. * from ****
Frank Markland Jeff Fahey stars as a sketch artist who basically takes a witness's(Drew Barrymore) details who then describes the sketch artist's wife (Sean Young) in denial about this Fahey launches his own investigation finding out secrets about his wife and her lover's shaky business ventures. Sketch Artist is actually far better than you would expect, for instance the film is downbeat and features characters who are cynical and willing to protect their own interests. Which brings us to our hero in Jeff Fahey who draws the picture wrong because he wants to keep his wife from being suspect. In real life things like this are not black and white, although people tend to find these antics unlikable it goes without saying that it gives more reality and dimension to a story that could be easily routine and transparent. While the story itself is routine, the story's downbeat angle and film noir style make this an interesting effort. A better than average TV movie if there ever was one.* * * out of 4-(Good)