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The Singing Detective

2003 · 109 min

A disorienting, darkly funny plunge into a sick man's mind, where 1950s musical numbers and pulp detective fantasies collide with bitter reality.

Directed by
Keith Gordon
Genres
Comedy, Music, Mystery
Tagline
When it comes to murder, seduction and betrayal, he wrote the book. Now he's living it.
Overview
Tormented and bedridden by a debilitating disease, a mystery writer relives his detective stories through his imagination and hallucinations.

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Directed by
Keith Gordon
Genres
Comedy, Music, Mystery
In your watch list

How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone
  • darkstrength 2 of 3
  • satiricalstrength 2 of 3
  • absurdstrength 2 of 3
  • melancholicstrength 1 of 3
Pacing
measured, 2 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention
demanding, 4 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes
  • identity
  • trauma
  • memory
  • obsession
  • deception
Places
  • hospital
  • big city
Era
contemporary
Audience
adult
Form
  • nonlinear
  • unreliable narrator
  • musical
Content intensity
  • Gore none
  • Language strong
  • Violence mild
  • Sex strong
All scales, 0 to 10
Scales, 0 to 10
ScaleValue0 to 10
Action3
Horror2
Humour6
Realism4
Romance3
Tension5
Darkness7
Complexity8
Emotional weight7

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Cast

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Details

Genres
comedy, music, mystery, crime
Directed by
Keith Gordon
Written by
Dennis Potter
Starring
Robert Downey Jr., Robin Wright, Mel Gibson, Jeremy Northam, Katie Holmes, Adrien Brody, Jon Polito, Carla Gugino
Cinematography
Tom Richmond
Runtime
109 min
Country
United States of America
Languages
English

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