Brown's Requiem stars Michael Rooker (Svenner from Mallrats) as Fritz Brown, a private investigator, ex-cop, and recovering alcoholic who gets involved in a case that seems to get bigger and bigger and more and more dangerous as he begins to uncover the truth about what he is investigating. Also, in the film is Selma Blair in one of her first roles, as the girl Brown is sent to (she is featured on the DVD Cover) she only has a handful of scenes and fails to add much to the movie.

It would seem that after L.A. Confidential, the next major adaptation of one of Ellroy's books would not slip by unnoticed to DVD. Watching the film, however, it is clear that the film is not up to par. The film represents a somewhat streamlined version of the novel, lacking a few of the intricasies that Ellroy likes to incorporate around Los Angeles and, in this book, golf. (As explained in the commentary, Ellroy worked as a caddie before writing this novel). While golf caddies do feature prominently in the film, golf themes are at times, more muted. Further, the 50's "noir" feel of the story seems somewhat out of touch in the 90's backdrop of the film.

While the film is entertaining in parts, it is not a film that I can recommend. The film suffers from performances which are somewhat subpar and a storyline that never really seems to get going and fails to live up to the expectations it sets by its own packaging.
Picture:
The film is presented in widescreen and is presented at an aspect ratio of 2.35:1. The film generally looks good and the colors and flesh tones are fairly true to what they should be. There are few fuzzy areas or imperfections, if any, in the film and the picture presentation is generally enjoyable. Sound:
Brown's Requiem is produced with 2.0 Dolby Surround Sound. While often clear, the scratchiness of Michael Rooker's voice makes certain dialogue difficult to clearly ascertain and therefore requires constant variations of volume levels to allow a viewer to catch everything that is said. A number of times, I experienced difficulty in picking up the dialogue. The commentary track by Rooker and director Jason Freeland is also available while watching the film by using the audio button on most DVD controllers. Extras:
Brown's Requiem features decent cast and crew bios, the theatrical trailer and feature length audio commentary provided by Jason Freeland, the director of the film, and Rooker, the star. The commentary does go into a decent amount of detail about the process of bringing the film to life and how certain portions of the film were added or deleted due to suggestions from everyone from the cast to the set director. Further, Rooker and Freeland speak at length about the relationsihp between the director and the actors, and Freeland speaks about being a first time director. The commentary in fairly enjoyable, however, there was little in this film that made me want to sit through it a second time.

Final Thoughts:
While Ellroy fans may rejoice that another great book has been brought to the big screen, such fans are likely to be disappointed by this film. All in all I would recommend skipping Brown's Requiem. For noir fans, one would be better served by checking out the recently released original version of "The Big Sleep."