A strong Carrey in a grim drama
There’s a single bright spot in the otherwise dreary, uncomfortably exploitative study in degradation that is “Dark Crimes,” a PolishBritish-American co-production retracing the sordid goings-on in a shuttered Krakow sex club.
That would be the unexpected presence of an effective Jim Carrey as a disconnected Polish police officer whose shot at redemption involves the reopening of a cold case murder.
Carrey’s heavily bearded, Polish-accented Tadek, a haunted-looking man of few words who moves with an economy of precision, is convinced the elusive killer of a frequent visitor to “The Cage” is Krystof Koslov (Marton Csokas), a famed novelist whose disturbing books are known for blurring reality and fiction.
The resulting game of cat and mouse leads Tadek down an increasingly obsessive path that, unsurprisingly, exposes some of his own baser instincts in the process.
Directed with an awfully heavy hand by Alexandros Avranas, the film has its own obsession with extreme close-ups and, more problematically, scenes of naked women in bondage being debased by fully clothed males.
But Carrey’s quietly exacting, uncharacteristic performance, though not a saving grace, hints at some promising new career directions.
All Carrey needs now is a better film. “Dark Crimes.” Rated: R, for strong and disturbing violent/sexual content, including rape, graphic nudity and language. Running time: 1 hour, 36 minutes. Playing: Laemmle Monica Film Center, Santa Monica.