Dark Crimes

Jim Carrey plays it serious and sombre in this murky and messy thriller shot in Poland. Well out of his comedy comfort zone, the star is barely recognisable as a bearded Polish cop whose obsession with a career-ruining cold case is rewarded when a novel about a sadistic sex club uncannily describes the murder, making the writer (Marton Csokas) the prime suspect for the dour (and dourer) detective. Csokas (The Bourne Supremacy, The Equalizer) makes a suitably hissable adversary as the arrogant author, but little tension is extracted from their battle of wills. Charlotte Gainsbourg displays vulnerability as a former sex worker who knows something about the case, but Carrey remains an emotional black hole throughout. It's a pity as the former King of Comedy has demonstrated plenty of dramatic range in the past in The Truman Show, Man on the Moon and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Sadly, Dark Crimes can't be added to that stellar back catalogue.