Dark Crimes (2016)

I went into this movie totally blind. I was just searching around for something different to watch, and when I saw Jim Carrey's name on a dark thriller, I figured I'd give it a shot. Carrey's "serious" acting is mostly limited to 'Eternal Sunshine' (which I didn't enjoy) and 'The Number 23' (which I watched but remember about zero percent of). I thought maybe seeing Carrey go completely against his norm would be interesting, but it failed in most ways.

In Poland, a murder victim is traced back to an underground sex dungeon. The case focuses on a crime writer and his girlfriend, dirty cops and clean cops, weirdo sex and violence. Carrey plays a good cop who (in a never-explained backstory) is trying to redeem his reputation, and his pursuit of justice in the case becomes all-consuming.

The story itself never really drew me in. The bleak landscape and grey skies were a good backdrop, but the story just didn't click. I didn't care about any of the characters, I wasn't rooting for the good guys, I wasn't rooting against the bad guys.

I will give credit to Jim Carrey for trying, but his trying did not lead to success. It was an odd choice for Carrey to go dramatic in what is essentially a foreign film, being set and filmed in Poland. I'll admit I couldn't pick a Polish accent out of an Eastern European lineup, but somehow all the actors felt like they were just guessing how they should sound, and Carrey seemed to occasionally forget to use the accent at all.

Sometimes when an actor goes against type it works, and other times you find yourself just picturing a previous character. In this case, unfortunately I just kept seeing Lloyd Christmas with a buzzcut and grey beard.