Mikes Film Talk

Sugar has Colin Farrell doing his best Sam Spade, without the smoke. This is modern noire. Drinking is perfectly acceptable, smoking of course, is not. It is interesting to note that Monsieur Spade (AMC+/ACORNtv) was released this year as well. And just like John Sugar, Sam Spade is learning to do his investigating sans tobacco.

A rose by any other name

Gumshoe, Shamus, Private Eye, Flatfoot, PI. All these names equate to a private detective. Of course a rose is a rose is a rose. Farrell does a decent job of portraying a modern Sam Spade. He is no Humphrey Bogart but he exudes a sort of classy doggedness. He is also flawed. Sugar has some sort of medical problem and it makes him unpredictable.

Of course Sam Spade was not the only noire gumshoe to narrate his own stories. Philip Marlowe, created by Raymond Chandler, was also one of those self narrated private eyes who was also a sucker for a pretty face. Robert Mitchum was, arguably, the best Marlowe.

*Side note: Mitchum also got the best line in the 1975 Farewell My Lovely, “I’m tired, Nulty! Everything I touch turns to shit! I’ve got a hat, a coat and a gun, that’s it.” If you have never seen this one, look it up. The cast is impressive and Jack O’Halloran as the broken hearted Moose Malloy makes the entire film worth it. This is noire with a capital N.

dream on

Sugar also dips in the creative pool to borrow some plot devices. Dream On was a brilliantly funny and weird show in the ’90s. It was about Martin Tupper (played exquisitely by Brian Benben) and like John Sugar, Tupper was a fan of celluloid. As such, there were scenes from movies and television from Martin’s past that popped up during relative moments. This is done in Sugar although not to the extent of Dream On.

Most, if not all of these film snippets feature other older noire moments. It works.

i hate hurting people

John Sugar may well hate hurting people but regardless of his distaste, he is good at it. Sugar may well see himself as a flatfoot plodding through this modern noire series but he is highly over-qualified.

He can, apparently, speak several different languages and his educational background includes attendance at Vassar. Farrell lends an air of believability to this character. Unlike other PI’s, his private cop is not jaded. He feels for the damaged people he deals with.

fandom

We like Sugar and Colin Farrell. His move to the small screen of television has not diminished his talent. Like his character, we also love the movies. This is good stuff. It is highly unlikely that another actor could have filled Sugar’s gumshoes with such ease. If you are not watching this superb crime mystery, you are missing out. Check out the trailer and see if you aren’t immediately hooked.