Inspector Alex Glass(Armin Mueller-Stahl)is on the trail of a serial killer who leaves Vaseline on the faces of his victims, dumping their bodies in secluded areas. We see in the opening of the film that Glass accidentally shoots a girl as an attempted arrest escalated into a shoot-out with a drug dealer who gets away. Glass also is burdened by an ex-wife who will not let him see or communicate with his daughter. The girl is a cripple and Glass is afraid of confronting her, leaving the little girl gifts as she tries to recuperate from her injuries. Meanwhile, Glass deals with renovations to his dilapidated Berlin precinct, a new associate/partner, Shirley May(Julia Kent) who he pesters for the hell of it, and a nasty drug dealer named Miskowski(an effective Frank Stallone, in a criminally underwritten role)who is the leading suspect in the murder of a murdered girl who seemingly died of an overdose. Glass has a friend and confident, lawyer Michael Karstens(Michael York..not his finest hour, to be honest)whose own sister was found dead, and pregnant in a meat plant freezer. When Karstens' own daughter is found dead the same way as the other victim(..also a ballet friend of hers), Glass will certainly have to fend off his alcoholism and sadness to stop the killing. Another plot development has Glass getting involved with a high-price call girl named Lisa(Morgan Fairchild, fatally miscast and, in my opinion, hurts the film)who has a relationship with drug dealing Mikowski, who is black mailing an important public official which reveals the answers to the film's ultimate mystery as to who is committing the murders.
I will admit that this is troublesomely convoluted, as mysteries often are, despite the fact that viewers who are paying attention will recognize who the killer is relatively early. But, Stahl's performance, in my opinion, is a must-see. He adds little touches and quirks to his character(..such as a funny little twitch with his nose, and little bit with a horn mouthpiece when bored during a stake-out of a person he's tailing)and is the kind of actor who adds dimension to a his detective which makes him interesting and believable. Stahl could've phoned it in, but he really makes the most of this part. Despite his flaws, Stahl is incredibly likable and vulnerable. When he's betrayed by someone in the plot, and is duped during the investigation, Stahl handles this perfectly. He's not a carciature whose detective knows every move of his quarry and has all the aces up his sleeve..I like this myself and was happy that he doesn't make all the right decisions. Yet, Stahl's character doesn't remain in a sulking state, and he isn't some cranky, angry sort always barking at people as is typical by boozing, down-on-their-luck detectives always seem in these type of films. I also thought the film was evocatively photographed in a moody neo-noir style capturing an effective Berlin where teenage prostitution, buildings in ruin, drug-abuse & sordid types all bathe the city streets where our Inspector works. Sometimes the score can be a liability, especially when the music hammers in certain scenes, but there's some jazz that I think added a nice little touch to the proceedings. I didn't care for the ending..a bit strange where the climax has the killer cornered in a meat plant where Stahl's detective sets up a dangerous scenario which could've been handled with a bit more finesse and an all too quaint close where Glass can appropriately exorcise that massive demon that's been plaguing him. But, worst of all, is having us buy into the relationship between Glass and Lisa. To be honest, Glass has better chemistry with his partner, Shirley..this would've been a more ideal pairing and they have a wonderful scene where they're caught in an uncompromising position thanks to a clumsy misstep when tailing Lisa hoping to catch up with Miskowski.
I will admit that this is troublesomely convoluted, as mysteries often are, despite the fact that viewers who are paying attention will recognize who the killer is relatively early. But, Stahl's performance, in my opinion, is a must-see. He adds little touches and quirks to his character(..such as a funny little twitch with his nose, and little bit with a horn mouthpiece when bored during a stake-out of a person he's tailing)and is the kind of actor who adds dimension to a his detective which makes him interesting and believable. Stahl could've phoned it in, but he really makes the most of this part. Despite his flaws, Stahl is incredibly likable and vulnerable. When he's betrayed by someone in the plot, and is duped during the investigation, Stahl handles this perfectly. He's not a carciature whose detective knows every move of his quarry and has all the aces up his sleeve..I like this myself and was happy that he doesn't make all the right decisions. Yet, Stahl's character doesn't remain in a sulking state, and he isn't some cranky, angry sort always barking at people as is typical by boozing, down-on-their-luck detectives always seem in these type of films. I also thought the film was evocatively photographed in a moody neo-noir style capturing an effective Berlin where teenage prostitution, buildings in ruin, drug-abuse & sordid types all bathe the city streets where our Inspector works. Sometimes the score can be a liability, especially when the music hammers in certain scenes, but there's some jazz that I think added a nice little touch to the proceedings. I didn't care for the ending..a bit strange where the climax has the killer cornered in a meat plant where Stahl's detective sets up a dangerous scenario which could've been handled with a bit more finesse and an all too quaint close where Glass can appropriately exorcise that massive demon that's been plaguing him. But, worst of all, is having us buy into the relationship between Glass and Lisa. To be honest, Glass has better chemistry with his partner, Shirley..this would've been a more ideal pairing and they have a wonderful scene where they're caught in an uncompromising position thanks to a clumsy misstep when tailing Lisa hoping to catch up with Miskowski.