Arthur Hailey's Detective

2005
5.7| 2h51m| PG-13| en
Details

Detective Sergeant Malcolm Ainslie, a Catholic priest turned distinguished investigator for the police, has agreed to hear the confession of a convicted serial killer sentenced to death in a just a matter of hours. What he promises to reveal to Ainslie is the truth behind the crimes and the reason he confessed to the one crime Ainslie doesn't even believe he committed. What unfolds between the two men is a serpentine trail into both men's pasts based on the bestseller from master storyteller Arthur Hailey.

AD
AD

Watch Free for 30 Days

All Prime Video Movies and TV Shows. Cancel anytime. Watch Now

Trailers & Clips

Reviews

TrueJoshNight Truly Dreadful Film
WiseRatFlames An unexpected masterpiece
TeenzTen An action-packed slog
Mandeep Tyson The acting in this movie is really good.
webmaster-1615 not a bad movie. just not a good one. it is tolerable, the kind of movie you will end up watching if you are sick in bed and can't find the remote. it's a "movie of the week" paced like a mini-series event scheduled during sweeps. Tom Berenger is good (as he always is) and Cybill Shepherd is, well, Cybill Shepherd. Annabeth Gish is totally wasted. She seems to actually be absent through most of her performance except for the occasional shrill outburst towards the end. You can't really blame the actors because the real flaw is the story line and script: back-to-back pointless and clichéd conversations that do nothing to move the plot along.
guilfisher-1 It took many hours to get through this predictable detective story. With a strong heavy weight cast, it still seems endless with many scenes that were just too long. Is this the writing? Directing? Or acting? Tom Berenger in the lead role as the detective out to solve the crimes, seemed to be going around in a daze, not sure what was happening around him. When he is faced with truths, his face doesn't change expression. I usually like this actor, but not in this. Cybill Shepherd wasted in a thankless role as the wife he left behind. Not much for her to do. Too bad. More of her could have made the story at least exciting. Annabeth Gish, just was bad casting. Not much going on there. One expression throughout the movie. No one cared. Veteran Charles Durning also wasted in a nothing role. Don't see much of him. Sean O'Bryan and David Atkinson, to this viewer turned in the most interesting and challenging roles. Good acting and energy sadly lacking from the others. But, please a four hour movie? It has to have something to hold interest. I welcomed the commercials just to get a break.
Bjorn (ODDBear) Tom Berenger plays Malcolm Ainslie, a former priest turned detective, and he has one big case on his hands. A madman is killing elderly residents in gruesome fashion and his actions seem to be somewhat borrowed form The Book of Revelations. As a former priest, Ainslie might just prove to be the perfect one to solve the case.Mixing in Ainslie's troubled personal life, Detective has a good story throughout it's running time. I can't help thinking this could have been even better had it not been a Hallmark presentation. There's no gore here (but plenty of opportunities) and the suspense seems to watered down somewhat, especially during the climax. It's totally got that TV feel to it, but director choirs are well handled by David Cass, a seasoned television director.The cast is mostly good. Tom Berenger is good as Ainslie, handling all aspects of the character well. Cybill Sheperd is fine as his wife but Annabeth Gish is completely stone-faced all the way through. It's fun to see Charles Durning but his role is a small one.Had this movie gotten the theatrical treatment it could have been one hell of a thriller. Sourced from a good book by Arthur Hailey, it really cries out for better production values and some bloody set pieces. Still, it's quite good all the same.
emin karakus Detective Sergeant Malcolm Ainslie (Berenger), a Catholic priest turned distinguished homicide investigator for the Miami police, has been summoned to hear the confession of Elroy Doil. The convicted serial killer-who Ainslie himself was responsible for catching, is scheduled to be executed the following morning. Suspected of the string of murders but convicted on only one count, Doil wants to come clean and reveal everything he knows. Ainslie can't refuse the crimes, committed four years before, still sear his memory. The victims: the elderly. The deaths: barbaric. The killer: a self-proclaimed avenger of God. But Doil's motives are more troubling, and more baffling than just that—for his own scars cut deep. So does the whole unknown story of the crimes that Doil has promised to reveal to Ainslie. What unfolds between the two men is a serpentine trail into both their pasts—one that questions everything they think they know about each other, about crime and punishment, about truth and justice.

Similar Movies to Arthur Hailey's Detective