Quartile rating: 5/10 · 1 rating
Tadek, a Polish detective, becomes suspicious of a controversial author when the incidents described in his unpublished novel resemble the inner workings of an unsolved murder.
Dark Crimes has an intriguing premise — a detective tracing a real murder through a novelist's unpublished fiction — but the execution is muddled and the narrative loses momentum badly in the second half. Jim Carrey delivers a restrained, serious dramatic turn that is genuinely committed, elevating the material somewhat, though the supporting cast is uneven. The Kraków setting gives the film a cold, gritty visual texture with competent but unremarkable cinematography. The concept of blurring fiction and reality in a crime investigation has been done more effectively elsewhere, and the film doesn't bring enough distinctiveness to its noir trappings. The ending is bleak and unsatisfying in a way that feels less purposefully provocative than simply unresolved and deflating.