30
This is one very ugly movie at its heart, not for how Englert photographed it but for how bleak and unrelenting the violence is — even that ending can’t dig Dark Crimes out of its dark hole.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
50
San Francisco Chronicle by David Lewis
Regardless of how one might feel about its inherently icky subject matter, Dark Crimes needs more narrative momentum. The cast is game, the production design is impressive and a few surprises await — but even as things heat up, the film somehow remains cold.
25
Carrey’s commitment is in the service of a movie that is not just muddled in the conventional ways but down to its core; it really never figures out what it’s about, even as it grimly manipulates its volatile content.
0
Slant Magazine by Henry Stewart
There’s a lot of sexual violence in the film, but it scans as unimaginatively repulsive, as well as blatantly misogynistic.
16
The A.V. Club by Ignatiy Vishnevetsky
Here, a few words should be said about Carrey’s performance: It may be the worst dramatic acting of his career, a charmless cartoon of self-repression.
40
The New York Times by Ken Jaworowski
A good story gets stuck in a puddle of mood in Dark Crimes, a film that strays from its fascinating source — a real-life murder case — into a less successful attempt at noir.
30
Los Angeles Times by Michael Rechtshaffen
Carrey's quietly exacting, uncharacteristic performance, though not qualifying as a saving grace, hints at some promising new career directions in the same manner Robin Williams successfully tapped a darker side with "One Hour Photo." All Carrey needs now is a better film.
25
Consequence of Sound by Randall Colburn
The only subtlety to be found is in the performance of singer and actress Charlotte Gainsbourg, though it’s her co-star, Jim Carrey, who will be the subject of most of this strange, ugly film’s discussion. And why not? It’s a bizarre, fascinating turn for Carrey.
38
Carrey doesn’t deliver any sizzle in this role. Csokas chews him right out of their scenes, and the always soulful Gainsbourg (“Nymphomaniac,” “Antichrist”) lets us think we’re looking right into her horrific past, even if this dull, obvious “mystery” doesn’t seem worthy of any of their talents.
30
Although inspired by an interesting post-modern true crime story, and featuring an unexpectedly depressive performance from Jim Carrey, Dark Crimes is a dull, dark, depressing film with very little on its mind.