āDark Crimesā is a thriller by Alexandros Avranas a young director with only five credits to his name. With this and Carreyās exceptional performance, those five will soon be a thing of the past. The film marks Jim Carreyās return to the screen after the unremarkable, āDumb and Dumber Toā received a collective thumbs down from audiences everywhere. Pulling away from the genre, āDark Crimesā is in no way similar to the comedic roles heās known for. With this project Carrey has chosen for himself an incredibly persecuted soul in his character, Tadek, to show us that heās more than just a jester here for our amusement.
Tadek wants to reopen an investigation into the sex crimes and unsolved murder of a businessman that he had previously been involved in. While learning what that investigation is about, the film gets sinister fast. It starts rather brutally in a world most believe, unfortunately, exists somewhere. One where young women are imprisoned, raped and tortured for menās pleasure. This life goes on in the dark, in secret, behind thick walls and gates. This investigation takes us into what is known as āThe Cageā as he wanders through it. Heās sickened by the cold, dark, foul-smelling conditions the girls had been, until no longer desired, housed in.
āThe Cageā has since been shut down but there are tapes the owner of the building has that come in useful. Tadek finds that not only are videotapes of the goings on in such a despicable place helpful but he stumbles across the details in a book by author Krystov Kozlow (Csokas) that exactly outline everything he is investigatingā¦ right down to how the body is tied up, information previously unreleased to the public.
His mission now? To link Kozlow to the murder that heās certain he committed. Tadek listens to an author read audiobook every moment he can. In the book, Kozlow details what goes on in sex-clubs stating that there were no rules. You could beat the girlās half to death if you wanted but youāre not to kill them because though the girls understood that rape was just a transaction, āCorpses didnāt look good in makeup.ā
Thereās a scene about halfway through the film where Tadek and Kozlow go head to head that reveals Carreyās depth. The two are playing mind games, both eager to show the other that theyāre the strongest bull in the pen. Through the introduction of Kasia (Gainsbourg), who is also Kozlowās girlfriend, itās exposed that Tadek has some inner demons heās never let escape. Itās here where the audience is given a glimpse into, though heās disgusted by Kozlow more and more, how similar the two men might be. Getting rid of Kozlow may bury his own personal hellion or will it unleash it?
In the end, we find that Tadek and the audience is played from several different directions. Though itās slow and its lighting is as dark as the story, if youāre a fan of thrillers and of Carreyās, itās worth seeing. Pay close attention because instead of quickly paced three to five-second cuts, Avranas has you watch a story unfold using plenty of dialogue and close-ups. Often times itās not exactly clear as to whatās going on so be sure your mind doesnāt wander and youāll be able to keep up. I must also mention that āDark Crimesā has a great ending that, in fact, made me clap. Well done, Avranas. Iām looking forward to more of your work.
*In Phoenix, watch it exclusively atĀ AMC Arizona CenterĀ and EVERYWHERE On Demand!