A Kind of Murder

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2:22

A Kind of Murder

R

2016

1h 38m

Mystery & Thriller

Crime

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

35%

Tomatometer

17 Reviews

18%

Popcornmeter

500+ Ratings

Walter Stackhouse is rich, successful and unhappily married to the beautiful but damaged Clara. His desire to be free of her feeds his obsession with Kimmel, a man suspected of brutally murdering his own wife. When Walter and Kimmel's lives become dangerously intertwined, a ruthless police detective becomes convinced he has found the murderer. But as the lines blur between innocence and intent, who, in fact, is the real killer?

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Candice Frederick

Reel Talk Online

03/21/2017

D

[Director Andy Goddard] just doesn't develop a level of intrigue or tension that you'd expect from a narrative that is built on double identities, perceptions, classism, and homicide.

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John DeFore

The Hollywood Reporter

12/15/2016

A handsome period piece that plays more like a scant-clues mystery than like the psychological thriller it intends to be.

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Alissa Wilkinson

Vox

12/15/2016

2/5

Good source material does not guarantee a good movie, and A Kind of Murder, a new Highsmith adaptation directed by Andy Goddard from a screenplay by Susan Boyd, is not a good movie.

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Jason Adams

The Film Experience

07/02/2021

There were moments of such monumental airlessness, as if a plastic sofa cover was wrapped over every scene

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Matt Pais

MattPais.com

06/10/2020

C-

Less cat-and-mouse than cat-and-mirror. The movie just sits there, proud to look pretty, not really doing anything.

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Debbie Lynn Elias

Behind The Lens

10/30/2019

3/5

Where A Kind of Murder excels is with one of the key themes found in Patricia Highsmith's novel - ambiguity - the success of which comes primarily thanks to Patrick Wilson in his performance as Walter Stackhouse.

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Stephen C

@bob25009 Aug 31

Success in 1 hour and 38 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The USA grossed over $2,000.00!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Alain E

@AlainE Aug 20

Visually, this movie is very successful with deep saturated colors and also has a nice music accompaniment. The story based on a Highsmith book depends on psychological study. Jessica Biel’s character in the movie is underdeveloped. She is a wife, who for unexplained reasons withdraws from sex and then mysteriously dies providing the police detective with another potential murder to solve. The story evolves with the three male main characters. The confused husband, whose easily revealed lies make him a suspect, the creepy bookseller who became again a bachelor in an unlawful way and the persistent policeman. The end, filmed in low light, is quite confusing but overall the movie is entertaining. Stylistically the milieu is 1950s which is also when the book was published and not 60s as misidentified by some reviewers (just notice all the men with hats, if you are not familiar with Detroit car models).

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Joe W

@JoeWasik Jul 20

Story is a little to weird, incomprehensible, to be good.

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Horror fan 4

Apr 26

A slow build up to what leads to a lazy ending. Tim Treakle

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Green C

Dec 19

This is a beautiful film. I don't understand the hate.

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Rob A

05/05/2024

This one's a miss. Lame title; a script with plenty of holes in it and a confused, anticlimactic ending. Patrick Wilson's schtick has also worn thin. (Haley Bennett was a bright spot.)

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Andy Goddard

Director

Patrick Wilson

Walter Stackhouse

Haley Bennett

Ellie

Jessica Biel

Clara Stackhouse

Eddie Marsan

Kimmel

Vincent Kartheiser

Detective Lawrence Corby

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A Kind of Murder: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

Walter Stackhouse is rich, successful and unhappily married to the beautiful but damaged Clara. His desire to be free of her feeds his obsession with Kimmel, a man suspected of brutally murdering his own wife. When Walter and Kimmel's lives become dangerously intertwined, a ruthless police detective becomes convinced he has found the murderer. But as the lines blur between innocence and intent, who, in fact, is the real killer?

Director: Andy Goddard
Producer: Susan Boyd, Ted Hope, Kelly McCormick, Christine Vachon
Screenwriter: Susan Boyd
Distributor: Magnolia Pictures
Production Co: Blue PM, Killer Films
Rating: R (Some Violence|Language)
Genre: Mystery & Thriller, Crime, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 16, 2016, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 21, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA): $2.0K
Runtime: 1h 38m
Sound Mix: SDDS, Dolby Digital, DTS

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