The Singing Detective
2003
**
Director: Keith Gordon
Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Robin Wright Penn, Mel Gibson, Jeremy Northam
A pulp novelist with a terrible skin condition lies in a hospital bed where a hazy mix of old songs, his last novel and his childhood memories become his reality. Dennis Potter's excellent TV series has been Americanized and compressed into 100 minutes. Now the protagonist is loud and offensive instead of witty and cynical, and the complex and captivating story feels confusing and unpleasant.
