The backstory is co-writers Frank and Fontana (neighbors in L. A.) had the idea of a retired Sam Spade (epitomized by Humphrey Bogart in Maltese Falcon) riding out the wave in the south of France, with ensuing complications. Clive Owen - a fellow fan of Hammett/Bogart/film noir - heard about the project and offered his services in the lead role. Which, to my mind, is where things went awry.
Owen is a fabulous actor, but I think he's miscast as Spade. What made Bogart's portrayal compelling- and timeless - is the undertone of menace/violence lying just beneath the surface of his Spade, liable to strike at any moment. There's something unhinged and reckless about him, and Bogart carries that cynicism and simmering malevolence through every scene.
Owen, conversely - try as he might to deliver the tough-guy lines - seems more like an attractive nice-guy retiree who finds himself in the middle of mayhem that he doesn't quite know what to do about. The tough-guy personna doesn't fit him, and rings false in scene after scene. And while the noir-ish wise guy lines must have been creative fun for Frank and Fontana to write (I'm picturing them sitting across a kitchen table), they sound off-key when delivered by Owen, who's simply not believable as a cynical, hard-boiled survivor of mean streets. Similarly, many of the 'colorful' characters (bar owner/chanteuse; police captain, etc) seem stereotyped and artificial.
Having said that, it's certainly watchable, with passable plot twists and nice scenery. But overall it's less than the sum of its parts, with a miscast Owen the unsolvable problem.
Owen is a fabulous actor, but I think he's miscast as Spade. What made Bogart's portrayal compelling- and timeless - is the undertone of menace/violence lying just beneath the surface of his Spade, liable to strike at any moment. There's something unhinged and reckless about him, and Bogart carries that cynicism and simmering malevolence through every scene.
Owen, conversely - try as he might to deliver the tough-guy lines - seems more like an attractive nice-guy retiree who finds himself in the middle of mayhem that he doesn't quite know what to do about. The tough-guy personna doesn't fit him, and rings false in scene after scene. And while the noir-ish wise guy lines must have been creative fun for Frank and Fontana to write (I'm picturing them sitting across a kitchen table), they sound off-key when delivered by Owen, who's simply not believable as a cynical, hard-boiled survivor of mean streets. Similarly, many of the 'colorful' characters (bar owner/chanteuse; police captain, etc) seem stereotyped and artificial.
Having said that, it's certainly watchable, with passable plot twists and nice scenery. But overall it's less than the sum of its parts, with a miscast Owen the unsolvable problem.