Dark My Light makes the bold claim that it is the triumphant return of the detective noir film. This means it is asking itself to be compared to classics like The Third Man and Touch of Evil. The fact that it does not try to be either is not the problem. The main issue is writer-director Neal Dhand decides to tell a tale that forgoes any noir elements in lieu of a frustratingly confusing story.
Mitchell Morse (Albert Jones, Mindhunter) is investigating a serial killer in the small beach town in which he resides. Along with having problems at home, he has been given a partner who is constantly getting himself in trouble, plus seems to have problems at home. He also seems to be losing his grip on reality as everything around him seems to be falling apart.
The first act of Dark My Light introduces its characters in a lackadaisical manner. Even though there is a serial killer running loose and what seems to be a buddy cop set up, there is nothing to draw audiences in. Everything moves from scene to scene with little sense of direction. Making matters worse is how strange everything is. Characters act in ways that make no sense leading to a moment that could be generously describes as a “twist”.
At this point, things become even more bewildering. Trying to piece clues together is a part of any mystery, but that is not what is happening here. It is clear that this is not going to be a movie about a murderer; it is just not evident what type of film Dark My Light wants to be. The audience will spend most of the time trying to put together what is exactly going on.
By the time the biggest reveal happens, it falls flat. There are some clues, but it is as much guesswork as anything the writing does. Ironically, Dark My Light becomes even harder to understand after it explains what is going on. It rushes together a lot of ideas that do not connect, eventually settling on what seems to be a character study. But since there is little character development, it just leaves anyone watching asking the wrong kind of questions.
Dark My Light is available on VOD now.
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