Thrillers made prior to circa 1970 often began with a "hook" of some kind, followed shortly thereafter by an unspeakable event. The story would only gradually unfold in which the viewer has no idea the who, the what, the how, the pieces of the puzzle only fitting into place at great effort. Think of the Maltese Falcon: a beautiful woman enters into the detective offices of Sam Spade and Miles Archer, claiming she's trying to find her sister who has been supposedly abducted. Shortly thereafter, Archer is murdered. In "A King of Murder", based on a story by the mystery-suspense writer Patricia Highsmith, famous for her Ripley novels, there's a similar form.At the beginning of the film, we learn that the wife of a reclusive antiquarian bookseller, Marty Kimell (Eddie Marsan) has been murdered. We don't see the murder, but mainly hear about it through a newspaper clipping extracted from a newspaper by Walter Stackhouse, a prominent architect. The case is being investigated by Detective Lawrence Corby (Vincent Kartheiser of Mad Men fame). Then we're brought to the other story-line thread. Walter Stackhouse (Patrick Wilson) seems to have everything someone in the upper middle-class could desire: a beautiful home, a beautiful wife, and a promising career as an architect and a short story writer. Except, his relationship with his wife, Clara (Jessica Biel), is on the rocks because of a dwindled sex life. At one of their lavish parties Stackhouse meets Elli, and he triangulates to fulfill his sexual needs. He also visits the bookshop owned by the husband of the murdered woman.Clara's impotence worsens and so does her psychological instability. At the same time, the case of the murdered woman seems to be going nowhere. Eventually, Clara's mother is reported to be dying, and Clara leaves on a bus to go to her bedside. Stackhouse follows her but then returns home. Later, we learn Clara never arrived at her mother's. She was found dead under a bridge about half-way between her home and her mother's. Was it suicide or murder? Stackhouse is questioned by Corby who starts to believe there may be a link between Stackhouse, his dead wife, and the other murdered woman. When questioned about whether he knew about the other case, Stackhouse lies and says he's never heard of it, and claims he has never met the widower. Corby begins to question Stackhouse's claims. Will he be caught in his lies and therefore become a prime suspect in the death of his wife? A thoroughly enjoyable and biting suspense-thriller which has its roots in many of the noir films directed by Howard Hawks and John Huston. A positive reviewer quote states that the film would have made Hitchcock proud, but this is much more of a throw-back to adaptions of novels by Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler. "A Kind of Murder" is very gritty, similar to the "b-films" of Old Hollywood, such as "The Maltese Falcon", "Laura", and "The Big Sleep". And the climactic ending is not what you would expect from most of these kinds of films today.

Can't understand the low rating, but I guess it goes to show ya...This was a wonderful movie with wonderful acting. Patrick Wilson is brilliant, if you understand the movie the way I think I understand it. There is such a tremendous undercurrent of social commentary in the movie, and I think it was beautifully casted.Jessica Biel is beautiful, no doubt, but she is so feminine and alluring in this movie it well exceeded expectations. Eddie Marsen is a fantastic actor and Vincent Kartheiser (from Mad Men) is inspired in this role.I love a period piece, and this one is shot warmly for most of the movie. The social commentary always gets me - combined with great acting its a total keeper. Enjoy!

In the bonus segment of the DVD for "A Kind of Murder," the director Andy Goddard describes his goal of filming a psychological thriller. Unfortunately, the results of his efforts were not terribly exciting.One of the problems of the film is that the script was based on one of the inferior works of the writer Patricia Highsmith, whose strength was typically in the area of psychological crime fiction. The film develops parallel murder stories with two men, Mr. Stackhouse and Mr. Kimmel, who engage in a cat-and-mouse game with each other.Either Stackhouse or Kimmel (or both...or neither) could actually have murdered their wives. The most engaging part of the film was the proposition in Stackhouse's mind that he was guilty of his wife's death merely because he secretly desired it. This psychological concept was brilliantly developed by Dostoevsky in his masterpiece "The Brothers Karamazov." But Highsmith's presentation lacks depth and truly profound psychological insights.The cast of "A Kind of Murder" was excellent with Patrick Wilson, Jessica Biel, Eddit Marsan, and Haley Bennett. Bennett was good in her role as a torch song performer in a moody underground nightclub. The design team effectively captured the period of the '60s, and the film was well scored. Unfortunately, the overall effect was just not very compelling.

This film tells the story of a successful writer, who is married to a beautiful wife. His wife is unfortunately intensely jealous, and their marriage is in jeopardy. When his wife is found dead, a detective relentlessly tries to prove that he is the murderer."A Kind of Murder" starts off engaging, as the wife is really beautiful. Jessica Biel's hairstyle is very elegant and elaborate, highlighting her status as a rich wife and successful designer. However, her attitude towards her husband is cold and unsupportive, making me feel very sorry for the husband. After the mysterious circumstances occurred, the story unfortunately goes downhill. The detective keeps on jumping to illogical and unsubstantiated conclusions, and his dedication towards the case is seriously misplaced. The involvement of the bookstore owner just doesn't make sense either. The ending creates confusion rather than suspense and thrill, which is a pity.