There are movies that come along that feature recognizable stars, but for whatever reason it didn’t get the bigger push some might have expected. The latest, A Kind of Murder features a great cast including Patrick Wilson, Jessica Biel, Vincent Kartheiser, Haley Bennett, and Eddie Marsan, but does this film noir type mystery offer up any truth worth looking for or will it be a murder that no one cares about?

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A Kind of Murder follows Walter Stackhouse who is a rich, successful and unhappily married to the beautiful but damaged Clara in 1960’s New York. His desire to be free of her feeds his obsession with Kimmel, a man suspected of brutally murdering his own wife. But when Clara is found dead in suspicious circumstances, Walter's string of lies and his own guilty thoughts seem enough to condemn him. As his life becomes dangerously entwined with Kimmel's, a ruthless cop is increasingly convinced he has found a copycat killer in Walter and aims to nail both murderers. This is a slow burn film that manages to offer up a story that is way more interesting than I expected going in. There isn’t anything here overly original, but the cast do a great job at keeping it interesting to the very end. As you might expect they have a couple of stories structured together to keep you guessing to who is behind the killing in the film and why. You spend a lot of time with Biel and Wilson as the main focus with Marsan playing a more reclusive role. I never found myself fully invested in anyone here, but still enjoyed seeing the varying directions it takes you on this journey keeping you guessing without trying to over complicate it.

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The setting of the 60s helps to make the film all the more compelling and kind of acts as a character of its own. I love the crime noir genre and while this one doesn’t stand out as anything overly memorable, it does manage to entertain and capture the look and tone to make it feel like a classic in its own right. If you like the cast and/or the genre then decide for yourself with A Kind of Murder in theaters and On Demand on December 16th.