ShangLuda Admirable film.

Dotbankey A lot of fun.

Afouotos Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

Bob This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

SimonJack "Manhattan Night" has all the ingredients of the pulp fiction genre that began around 1930. It has a twist on the usual noir plot, in that the lead character isn't a detective. But, the newspaper columnist, Porter Wren (Adrien Brody), turns into a detective in his job. The setting, night and street scenes and camera work copy the successful techniques used in films from the stories of the early American detectives. Indeed, the writers for this film tried to emulate the styles of Dashiell Hammett (1894-1961), Raymond Chandler (1888-1959), and Mickey Spillane (1918-2006). The plot is quite bizarre and probably designed to be more in tune with the current culture's tastes for the noir. But the character deviation is the biggest difference. And, I think it's the biggest detriment of this film. Sam Spade, Philip Marlowe and Mike Hammer – the characters, respectively, of the earlier three novelists, were single private eyes. They were tough and hardened characters who could dish out a bruising as well as take one – usually more than one. They were hard-fisted, hard drinking, thinking macho men. By contrast, Adrien Brody is a happily married man. His wife is an MD and he has three children. His newspaper beat has him on the street mostly in the daytime, but occasionally at night. The filmmakers try to make Brody into the tough character of the model private eyes. He drinks and takes a bruising. Thankfully, Hollywood didn't have him dishing out a bruising. That would have been way too far-fetched. In spite of the script and the attempt to paint Brody as something of a tough guy, it just doesn't work. He is not a macho man. His persona is far too timid and mild – almost effeminate. And, as much as I like Brody in some other films, he just can't pull off this role to make it seem believable. The movie itself has some intrigue, but the bizarre aspects and overboard gratuitous sex and ongoing affair undercut the mystery attraction in the film. At the end, one has the impression that this was just another pulp fiction film. It was made glossier, for sure, but it's still a cheap, second-rate story and film Brody's Wren does get payback for his adultery, so there is a sense of fairness about the ending – certainly not empathy for his character. None of the cast gave memorable performances. Brody is a quite good actor who has the ability to make some quality movies. So it's sad to see him follow the road of so many other good actors after their peak years. Only he's going early into the realm of lesser quality films. I don't know how closely the movie follows the 1996 novel it is based on – "Manhattan Nocturne" by Colin Harrison. But this wannabe Sam Spade flick just seems phony and unbelievable.

Lee Eisenberg Brian DeCubellis's "Manhattan Night" is basically a modern-day film noir. Adrien Brody plays a tabloid journalist who meets a woman who wants him to investigate the death of her husband. The characters very much evoke a 1940s movie, with Brody as the homely detective and Yvonne Strahovski as the blonde who enters his life. An unusual side to this movie is that the detective has a family.I wouldn't call it any sort of great movie. I thought that the real strength was the exchanges between the main character and the other characters. But make no mistake about it, practically every scene adds a new twist (especially during the last twenty or so minutes of the movie). It's an OK movie, not a masterpiece. Good support comes from Jennifer Beals (in a role far removed from her most famous ones) and Campbell Scott (son of George C. Scott and Colleen Dewhurst).

Fella_shibby I saw this on a rented DVD. I didn't c the trailer or read much bah it except that it being a mystery movie with Brody in it convinced me to pick the DVD. The movie started like Chinatown, a woman approaches a detective to look into her husband's death then 8mm n Jade came to my mind. A lil bit of Bringing out the dead too came to my mind. Well it's a very engaging neo- noir film. The initial 15 mins was slow. After that it really turned into an engaging drama/mystery movie. As a viewer I was totally glued to it n really wanted to know how it ends. The lead female has a past which many characters were curious to know. As a viewer even I became curious. Brody acted good. The plot was intriguing n interesting. The movie was entertaining. The relationship of the lead female and her former husband was truly bizarre.

Reno Rangan The film was based on the book named 'Manhattan Nocturne'. Excellently made film, it's the director's first feature film as well. He did not get the top actors, but these actors were the good ones. Adrien Brody and Yvonne Strahovski were amazing their respective roles. It was not a detective story, but very close to being one. So if you love crime-mysteries, then you should try this. The tone of the film makes very interesting. It's not about the question of story prediction, but how cleverly it was advanced like the characters were transformed compared to the opening and the conclusion.Some films open strongly, but ends poorly. In this case, the opening was average, but ended on a high. The main reason is the middle parts, keeping all contents together and developing some suspense with a couple of quick twists made this film to reach the expectation made by its viewers. It was a tale of a recently famed reporter finds an affair with a young widow, despite he's married with a child. Soon, he discovers some mysterious men are watching him, who threatening his family as well. How he gets out of that trouble by finding reasons behind it is what the rest of the film narrates.It looked a lot like a television film. Not because of the production quality, actually the production was top class, but the story and its narration felt kind of like a mini-series type. I don't know how many books are there, but I want this to continue, at least as a television film series. One of the best of its kind, I almost liked everything about the film. But I still feel I underrated it, at the end I'm satisfied with what I gave. Definitely, I recommend it.7/10