TROUBLE IS MY BUSINESS
Film review by FIORE
If you occasionally like to curl up in a cozy chair with a
pulp fiction novel that begins something like this: “I was about to drown myself
in a bottle of bourbon when she walked into the office. She was legs and curves and I knew by the way
she swayed toward my desk that she was trouble.” Then I have a movie for you. It’s called TROUBLE IS MY BUSINESS and it attempts, at time successfully, to bring
back the Boggie and Cagney film noir epics.
Private Detective Roland Drake is in a hard way, blamed
for a young girl’s murder. Facing a
ruined reputation, and eviction, he sees a ray of hope when Katherine Montemar sashays
into his office seeking his help.
Members of her family are disappearing, and she needs to know why. Drake seizes the opportunity to redeem his
name and get back in the game.
Sounds like a solid foundation for a film noir, but TROUBLE IS MY BUSINESS often tries too
hard. As an Independent film, it is the
brainchild of Thomas Konkle. He wrote,
directed, edited, produced and stars in the movie. His efforts are most noble, yet overblown.
The script is too complicated, even for this genre which
specializes in plot twists. Every pulp
fiction tale has twists, but TROUBLE IS
MY BUSINESS takes the mandate too far.
The dialogue is choppy and static.
It tries too hard to sound like a Dashiell Hammett read. Konkle could
have fixed this in editing, but didn’t, resulting in a film that endures a
solid half hour past its most ideal point.
Flashbacks are used to fill in missing sections of plot, but the ploy is
used too many times and becomes a gimmick.
The acting is mundane.
Most notable is Vernon Wells as Detective Barry Tate. Wells is best remembered as The Arnold’s foil
in COMMANDO (“Let off some steam,
Bennett”). Konkle is a much better
director and writer than actor. The rest
of the cast including: Brittney Powell; David Beeler; Steve Tom: Jordana Capra;
and Ben Pace carry the plot, but little else.
Directors of Photography Jesse Arnold and P.J. Gaynard are
in fine form, capturing the cant and off-angle camera shots for which the genre
is noted. Combined with the Lighting
techniques of Joey Rasscol, TROUBLE IS MY BUSINESS captures the noir look
with aplomb.
While the first read of this review may seem harsh, I must
say I enjoyed the effort Konkle and crew emit.
This type of tale, and its visualization in glorious black and white are
iconic filmmaking. Indie films always have
budget restrictions which cause talented folk like Konkle to wear too many hats
during the production. Some judicious
editing of both film and script and a stronger cast would turn TROUBLE IS MY BUSINESS into a major
presentation.
For those who enjoy film noir, TROUBLE IS MY BUSINESS is worth a view. We have so few films made in this fashion
today, and the industry could certainly use more of them. TROUBLE
IS MY BUSINESS is available through video steaming and on home video. The film comes in two versions, glorious
black and white and in color. Watch the
black and white to appreciate the camerawork and lighting.
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