The White Orchid

It starts off kind of slow and then never really picks up.

But, the lead does a great job of appearing smug and not at all interested in actually showing up to work and acting. Her character is supposed to be shy, but really she looks bored. Very, very, very bored.

But she manages to keep that look for the duration of the film.

The good news is that I am sure that look of pure boredom matches the look on viewers faces

Olivia Thirlby as a detective on the coast of central California

This is considered neo-noir in the manner of De Palma, just not spiffed up in the blockbuster sense. It was inspired by the Elizabeth Smart murder case of 1947 (aka “The Black Dahlia”) but not based on it at all with the events taking place in 2014.

The first 65 minutes work as a slow burn detective story with good mystery and a little sensuality, highlighted by Olivia’s unique beauty and the scenic locations of Morro Bay, which is located midway between Los Angeles and the Bay Area, the Humphrey Bogart Estate being a key site. The 2020 movie “The Invisible Man” was obviously influenced by this first hour. A nice addition is unexpected appearances by Jennifer Beals and Nichelle Nichols.

Unfortunately, the climax is so contrived it enters “Why Sure!” territory. Worse, a softcore sapphic sequence is thrown in out of nowhere that is inorganic to the story and screams wannabe edgy. To add insult to injury, scenes of this make out session end up being the backdrop of the end credits. Get real.

The version I saw runs 1 hour, 28 minutes.

GRADE: D+