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Joe Mantegna, William H. Macy, Natalia Nogulich, Ving Rhames, Rebecca Pidgeon ...( see more  see more... ) , Vincent Guastaferro , Lionel Mark Smith , Jack Wallace

A disillusioned detective learns about his ethnic and spiritual roots during an investigation of the murder of an elderly Jewish woman.

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65% liked it

1,248 ratings

R, 1 hr. 42 min.

Directed by: David Mamet

Release Date: May 1, 1991

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DVD Release Date: September 8, 2009

Stats: 71 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (71)

  • her69eyes
    November 3, 2009
    her69eyes
    After the success of his first two features, "House of Games" and "Things Change", acclaimed writer/director David Mamet released "Homicide", based on the novel "Suspect" by William Caunitz, in 1991. The film is an oddity - by combining elements of both a police procedural thrill...( read more)er and a soul-searching drama, "Homicide" has an intoxicating narrative quality unlike many films of it's seemingly typical genre.

    The film stars Mamet's favorite actor, Joe Mantegna, as a hardened cop named Bobby Gold. His career is of greater contribution to his identity than his Jewish heritage, although Gold has certainly far from figured out who he is.

    Gold, along with his partner, Tim Sullivan (William H. Macy), are put on a prestigious case involving a cop killer and drug pusher named Randolph (Ving Rhames). While on patrol, however, Gold finds himself assisting a rookie officer and getting tangled up in a whole new investigation. An old Jewish woman was shot while behind the counter of her candy store, presumably only because of her race. Gold, however, learns that the murder was attributed to far more than pure anti-Semitism.

    Just as Gold undergoes an identity crisis, the film itself is wildly uneven in tone. Although Mamet does a commendable job of balancing his ideas, the two genres he's working with seem to conflict, much to the detriment of his unifying film. A film studying cultural identity in the world of crime would be an interesting film on it's own, but the standard police procedural that also lurks behind "Homicide" takes away from the intrigue of the central character study.

    Mantegna didn't have to exemplify much range in his collaborations with Mamet, but he is terrific at what he does. Mamet's dialogue is often parodied, but Mantegna speaks Mamet's poetics so fluently that it feels almost genuine. "Homicide" is not quite "House of Games", but it's an absorbing effort with some intense performances.
  • DrZeek
    September 14, 2009
    DrZeek
    Tim Sullivan: Hey, you got some... you got some heavy troubles on your mind? Huh, babe? We'll work it out. We'll play some cops and robbers. We'll bust this big criminal. We'll swagger around.

    A crime story that combines a police procedural and a cop's journey to learn more ab...( read more)out himself. Written and directed by David Mamet, this means the film has a very stylized sense of dialog, which I am a fan of. Its a solid film, if a bit slow, but it provides a good story and a quality lead role for Joe Mantegna.

    Mantegna stars as Det. Bobby Gold, a good cop, who has just gotten a hold of a high profile case along with his partner, Sullivan played by William H. Macy. This case involves an FBI most wanted criminal, and Gold has a few ideas on how to capture him. A snag in the plan occurs; however, when Gold, en route to another crime scene, happens on a murder scene.

    This scene involves the murder of an elderly Jewish woman, who ran a candy shop. Gold was the first on the scene, and with the family realizing that Gold is also Jewish, they use their high social status to put Gold on the case as the lead detective, to the dismay of Gold, who is now not involved in the high profile case he wanted.

    While Gold is Jewish, he does not respect the religion or himself and has no concern for the case. As the film goes on, however, Gold begins to find a curiosity in what has actually happened, as well as developing a deeper connection to his own roots. The film becomes an interesting character study about Gold, who moves between the two cases he is involved with.

    I like this film for the same reason I like most Mamet films, the rhythm of the dialog:

    Bobby Gold: Man's got no call to question my loyalty.
    Tim Sullivan: How's your head?
    Bobby Gold: He had no fuckin' call to get racial on me.
    Tim Sullivan: So he called you one, you called him one. We get to the gym...
    Bobby Gold: Sonofabitch is gonna go.
    Tim Sullivan: Yeah, I feel it too.
    Bobby Gold: Piece'a cake.
    Tim Sullivan: Either piece'a cake or a slice'a life, you notice that?
    Bobby Gold: Yeah, I've remarked that, ain't that the truth?
    Tim Sullivan: That is the truth.

    The way Mamet has scripted his scenes pulls me in. This especially goes for the banter between Mantegna and Macy. There are some poorly cast actors here and there that can't deliver Mamet dialog very well, but for the most part, the cast is solid.

    It also helps that the film has a very natural feel as a police procedural. While probably not perfect, the handling of the daily police work aspect is effective at keeping a real feel for the film. Roger Deakins' cinematography certainly helps make the film look very good as well.

    A couple twists towards the end of the film pull everything to an interesting conclusion and has the overall film work as a solid feature.

    Bobby Gold: You sorry fucking sack of shit. You shot my partner.
    Randolph: Yeah, man, and you could have paid me back if you would have brought your gun. That was your mistake, man.
  • iamthethinman
    December 14, 2009
    iamthethinman
    Here is Mamet learning how to be Hollywood Mamet, which isn?t bad at all. However, I still put this below the pre-HollyMamet of House of Games to the post of Spartan, and probably ranking it just below the ?just messing with you? Spanish Prisoner. The only real complaint I have w...( read more)ith the movie is that the non-action scenes are very, very static in almost every way. It seems more so that the scenes are made to just get the dialogue out. Now Mamet dialogue is like an action sequence, but the tone of these scenes are more serious that playful. And since they are so serious, you stand on every word and realize that a lot of it isn?t really going anywhere.

    But, that is the only complaint. This is a great story and evolves in a great way. It plays the reveal very well where you know what?s coming, then are surprised when it happens and still surprised when the next twist comes up. And, as always, great performances.
  • daghka
    December 7, 2009
    daghka
    Personally, though it's well plotted, what sets apart Mamet from great directors is the fact that he puts his most clear beliefs into the very front, it literally effaces whatever fine quality this film might have and those beliefs are so distracting that it spoils the acting and...( read more) negates whatever attributes of skill in terms of scriptwriting and directing that he might other wise possess.
  • jam233
    November 15, 2009
    jam233
    Excellent acting, convincingly done, tense atmosphere and a great pace. Well photographed and professionally done. Joe Mantegna put a lot of thought into his performance. Intriguing, good story.
  • dukeakasmudge
    November 6, 2009
    dukeakasmudge
    Checked this movie out at the library & I was glad I did
  • hypathio7
    October 8, 2009
    hypathio7
    nominated for best picture by NBR
  • andyrt14
    September 12, 2009
    andyrt14
    What a great film, keeanu reeves is amazing and this story line is so twisted and full of mind bending stuff that yu dont have a clue what you had just watched until yuo watch it again
  • engrymfilm
    September 10, 2009
    engrymfilm
    David Mamet's far too smart for the average moviegoer...in fact too smart for me too, I have to watch this again. Keyword is watch, I know I missed a lot of things and this is all I can tell you about it for now.

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Homicide Trivia

  • What word is missing from the titles: Doc _____ Bollywood _____ _____ Homicide  Answer »
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