Manhattan Night
released 2016
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“Manhattan Night” is an American, crime, thriller film based on the novel called “Manhattan Nocturne” written by Colin Harrison. It was produced by Adrien Brody, Brian Decubellis, Steve Klinsky, Jennifer Beals, Colin Harrison and a few others. The screenplay was written by Brian Decubellis who also directed it. It stars Adrien Brody, Yvonne Strahovski, Campbell Scott, Jennifer Beals, Steven Berkoff, Linda Lavin, Frank Deal, Stan Carp, Madison Elizabeth Lagares, Thomas Bair, Theis Weckesser, Alex Echevarria, Chinasa Ogbuagu, Jahni Brown, Allegra Cohen, Arlene A. McGruder, Karin Collision and many others.

Manhattan Night IMDb webpage

“Manhattan Night” is the strange tale of an investigative journalist named Porter Wren, played by Adrien Brody. He has a knack for finding a good story and solving crimes. The story begins at the evening party at his boss´s home where he is seduced by a mysterious woman named Caroline, played by Yvonne Strahovski. He is asked to help solve the case of her deceased husband, the late and great film producer Simon Crowley, played by Campbell Scott. The story takes many twists and turns as Porter discovers more and more about the mysterious woman Caroline, her late husband Simon and even his boss, the tycoon Sebastian Hobbs, played by Steven Berkoff.

I liked this story because of its twists and turns. The way Porter learns about the people he allowed in his life makes for a strange story and a dangerous one for him. This is a story with many threads but only one theme at its very center. I don´t want to give away that spoiler but it´s that one theme that makes this film so unique, especially in this day and age.

There is also a warning in this film, a caution as to who we let in our lives, especially when we have a lot to lose. In the case of Porter it´s his family and a marriage, albeit one in trouble. Caroline like Simone is a basket case and Porter´s boss, Sebastian Hobbs, is a man damaged as well. He is a much more stable person though than Caroline or Simon but a deeply scarred man.

Keep in mind that the central theme of the film and the answer to the mystery of what happened to Simon? How he died? are not one and the same. Rest assured, we do find out how Simon died and what happened and its not pretty. To make a long story short, Simon and Caroline are two very sick people. This is confirmed at the end. Porter should have turned the last tape over to the police and Caroline should definitely have faced justice. Why you ask? Let me explain.

Warning! Watch the movie before reading the spoilers below:

Caroline thought the jig was up for her. She thought the person that was sending Hobbs the tapes every so often was going to eventually send the tape of her committing a serious crime to the authorities (not to give away too much about the story). So she seduces Porter to investigate the murder of her husband hoping he would find and stop the person sending Hobbs the tapes, one of which contains footage of her committing her serious crime. She tries to hint at a possible future blackmail to Porter when she stops by his wife´s job and doesn´t tell her who she really is.

Caroline is the biggest schemer in the story while Hobbs, although a dangerous person too, is much less so than her. His motivations are simple and understandable and he eventually admits to Porter what his motivations are. That is why Porter should have turned Caroline into the police because she is as manipulative a criminal as Simon was crazy. People like Caroline are said to be on the extreme end of Anti-Social Personality Disorder (ASPD) spectrum. She is a set of fangs behind a pretty smile.

Porter Wren is definitely a flawed person. He is a weak main character but is also a reliable witness. The genius of this film is that it dupes us, the audience, as well as the main character into believing that all ended well when it really didn´t. At the end of the film Porter´s marriage is even more strained than it was before because Porter´s wife is no fool. A lunatic was murdered, probably with premeditation, and the murderer got away with it. To name just a few things really wrong with accepting the ending of this film. This movie really spun my moral compass round and round.

So, check out “Manhattan Night” and enjoy the ride.

John

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