This thriller is set in Buffalo, and is a kind of homage to that city, formerly one of the Gilded Age urban centers of the Northeast. This upstate NY post-industrial setting is a nice change of pace, and provides a post-industrial backdrop to the travails of a private eye as he navigates the twists and turns of intrigue, murder and espionage surrounding the works of Nikola Tesla. In this regard, the film is as much about Buffalo as it is about Tesla, whose person and work are invoked reverentially by various characters in the course of the film. The script provides great dialogue, lots of snappy exchanges. Some of the twists and turns seemed hard to follow, but this did not prevent me from enjoying this fun and offbeat cinematic ride.

This is one of those could've been films. With the right story and leading man it could have gone somewhere. But as it is it just meanders meaninglessly. The biggest problem here is the lead character Johnny Paczynski played by Greg Stuhr a gum shoe detective right out of the 1970's-80's. but in living in the present day. He wears a 1970's jacket (I owned one just like it) Drives a forty year old car and smokes incessantly, or has a cigarette always dangling from his mouth. Charlie lives in his office, drinking hard liquor and taking PI odd jobs. He always has an unpleasant nasty look on his face.I have seen quite a few detective films but I have never seen a bald lead character detective with lamb chop 1970's sideburns. We've seen completely bald lead star detectives; Telly Savalas as Kojak, and Bruce Willis. Willis would have been perfect as Charlie in this film. He does possess the serious rough edge swagger and can utter funny one liners with a slight tinge of comedy that is needed for this character. Unfortunately Stuhr does not possess these qualities. Stuhr looks more like a disgruntled CPA or a banker that needs a shave. Stuhr's slight frame and his demeanor are all wrong for this character. He doesn't have the sex appeal that Willis has, and when almost seduced by the lovey Emily Chase ( Camilla Belle) a client seeking his help, he brushes her aside.This film is like a paint by number mystery detective story that gets so caught up with itself that it becomes pedestrian and boring. Then you have actors just reciting lines in different scene locations. Matthew Broderick shows up in the film as the villain Borden Chase. Broderick looks as though he is imitating about a dozen past film villains. He also is imitating Marlon Brando and Orson Welles in their later years by becoming a Hollywood overweight actor. Broderick must have packed on thirty pounds. It was sad to see veteran actor Robert Vaughn wasted in a short scene portraying a grumpy eighty five year old tenant. Vaughn was the dashing handsome spy in the 1960's TV hit series The Man From U.N.C.L.E.Janeane Garofalo makes a short appearance as elusive Agent Barry. I did not recognize her at first. For we all remember her as the adorable pretty cute actress in comedy films some twenty year ago. Here they had her wear no make-up and used harsh lighting that made her look old and horrible. With Stuhr as the film's screenwriter along with the film's Director Jenna Ricker. Stuhr must have pulled rank and insisted on playing the lead role here. Big big mistake. But of course the mistakes were not surprising since this was Stuhr's first produced screenplay. Along with inexperienced Director Ricker who has had only one other small film under her directing belt.The only bright spots in the film were veteran actor Robert Forster as Sterling Whitmore and the two excellent beautiful actresses Camilla Belle and Alicja Bachleda as Nikki Meeker. Meeker the key to the puzzle of this confusing film. Here Meeker is sought after by Russian and Serbian thugs out to obtain the diagram to some invention created that could be used for peaceful or destructive purposes. Any fans of Buffalo New York will get to see a lot of Western New York landmarks and buildings, with short glimpses of Niagara Falls New York The American side. A big big disappointment of a could have been should have been film.

I had an amazing time watching this noir film at a film festival in my city. They don't make movie's like this one anymore. I liked everything in it: the plot is slightly complicated, but compelling; the characters are portrayed beautifully, by both some recognizable actors and the unknown ones; there is a Tesla angle in the story which makes me even more like the movie because I am a Serbian :) (Tesla was a Serbian too BTW); the movie leaves it up to the audience to fill in the gaps, so I guess that is the reason why some people won't like it as much as I did. I highly recommend the movie to all the detective/mystery genre fans, give it a chance, you won't be disappointed!

"That's a gene pool screamin' for chlorine." That is just one of many one liners I enjoyed in this film. And I have to like a middle aged balding guy who writes a film about the designs of Nicola Tesla and places it in his hometown of Buffalo. And he plays the lead - a churlish hardboiled detective (slightly Bruce Willis inspired). Good for you Greg Stuhr! His character reminds me of Bosch - if you have seen that Series.Buffalo and Niagara Falls make interesting locations. There are a lot of great shots of the Falls. There are four decent female roles which I like. Plus some major talent with Matthew Broderick and a few old stars like Robert Vaughn and Robert Forster, who has 177 credits to his name. Both cinematography and the sound track are excellent. It is slightly too long. The plot is a somewhat convoluted but I don't care. I like this movie and I like the aspiration of making such a film on a small budget. And would love to see Greg Stuhr playing a detective on one of the cable or network cop shows.