In Sleeping Dogs, Roy Freeman is a retired police officer who is in the process of recovering from experimental surgery. Roy suffers with Alzheimer’s disease, but has recently undergone an operation to help him regain his memories.
As it stands, Roy doesn’t remember his life or his career, and can’t conduct menial tasks without reminders. However, with the help of invasive surgery, things could be turned around.
One day, while Roy is working through his recovery, he is approached by a prison liaison representative. She is assisting a convicted murderer who is currently on death row.
According to the inmate, Roy worked the case that helped to convict him. The inmate states he was not involved in the murder and was pressured into making a confession.
Although Roy can’t recall the man or the case, he believes the inmate is telling the truth. Roy then starts to look into the investigation, to see what he can find out.
Directed and co-written by Adam Cooper, Sleeping Dogs is a mystery crime thriller starring Russell Crowe, Karen Gillan, and Tommy Flanagan. The movie is based on E.O. Chirovici’s novel, The Book of Mirrors, and following its release back in March the film is now streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
Should you check it out? Maybe, if you like Russell Crowe and/or detective noir movies, but don’t expect to be wowed by the story or surprised by the central mystery.
Mildly intriguing, but ultimately flawed, Sleeping Dogs is a mixed offering which feels like it should be better than it is. For all its atmosphere and all the clout that Crowe brings to proceedings, the film is a bit underwhelming, fairly predictable, and ultimately only so-so at best.
Sleeping Dogs starts off well, with Crowe keeping things ticking along nicely for the first half-an-hour, but things begin to slide a little as the narrative expands. As Roy’s investigation gets deeper, the story fails to be as captivating as it needs to be and interest levels begin to wane.
The issue is two-fold: The supporting players are not as strong as they need to be and the film moves a little too slowly. As a result, Sleeping Dogs is entirely watchable, but not it’s not great.
At close to two hours in length Sleeping Dogs is a bit of a slog. It’s fine at times, but dull in places, and is unlikely to keep anyone fully engaged.
It might work for those who are fine to dip in and out between afternoon snoozes, just don’t expect to build your whole night around it. Parts work, parts don’t, and ultimately it feels like Crowe’s character and performance should be attached to a stronger narrative.
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