Sleeping Dogs is a 2024 psychological crime thriller film directed by Adam Cooper in his directorial debut, from a screenplay by Cooper and Bill Collage. Cooper and Collage previously co-wrote several screenplays including Accepted (2006), Allegiant (2016), and Assassin’s Creed (2016). The film is based on the 2017 novel, The Book of Mirrors, from Romanian author E.O. Chirovici. After doing a bit of research the novel itself is fairly popular but does seem to have mixed reviews as people seem to either love it or hate it, no real in between as far as I can tell.
Roy Freeman (Russell Crowe), an ex-homicide detective with a fractured memory, is forced to revisit a case he can't remember. As a man's life hangs in the balance on death row, Freeman must piece together the brutal evidence from a decade-old murder investigation, uncovering a sinister web of buried secrets and betrayals linking to his past.
The cast includes Russell Crowe, Karen Gillan, Márton Csókás, Thomas M. Wright, Harry Greenwood, and Tommy Flanagan.
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Although Russell Crowe has been known to take on questionable projects at times he is still one of the better actors working today when given the right role. Sleeping Dogs, not to be confused with the 2012 videogame of the same name, has some seemingly great source material to work with (I have yet to read the book), and after watching the trailer I am intrigued. It seems to have that gritty feel I like from crime thrillers, and also seems to give off some vibes of Christopher Nolan’s Memento, which needless to say is a big plus. I will say that this may be an ambitious screenplay in terms of what seems to be several twists and turns, but if the story holds up and the cast delivers we could have something special here.
Sleeping Dogs is set to debut in theaters March 22nd, courtesy of The Avenue. Watch the official trailer below.