Keith Gordon/USA/2002; R4
Warner Bros, NZ$29.95 | Reviewed by John Spry

THE LEGACY of Dennis Potter is undeniable, and when viewing the impressive oeuvre that he left after his death in 1994, it is fairly easy to see why many believed him to be the finest auteur working in his chosen medium of television. Dennis Potter as auteur is not too brash a claim, as the worst of his work is still better than most other writers best work. This is evident in many of the indelible characters, situations and stories created by him, from his best-received pieces, The Singing Detective (1986), Pennies from Heaven (1978) to his lesser-received works such as Blackeyes (1989).

When reviewing any of Potter's work it is imperative that Potter himself be included as a topic of discussion as many of his stories involve him, parts of his life both literal and lyrical. Some of these aspects include his upbringing in a strict working class town, aspects of his parents (as well as parenthood), the countryside and surrounding forests where he was raised and many other elements, most of these aspects make an appearance in the 1986 version of The Singing Detective, arguably the greatest work Potter created in any medium.

The text under review here is the 2002 film version of The Singing Detective, adapted by Potter from his own teleplay. The basic structure and plot of the television series is retained in the film, however many differences are readily apparent between the two versions, both written by Potter many years apart.

The film The Singing Detective is the story of a novelist, Dan Dark, who is stricken with siriasis (a horrendous skin condition that Potter suffered with his entire life) and must be hospitalised for treatment. However the normal treatments are having little or no effect and more experimental courses are attempted including therapy sessions to not only combat the siriasis but also Dark's increasingly fragile mental state. Dark retreats into a world where he takes on the persona of a hard-boiled noirish character from one of his own hard-boiled novels. Not only does Dark experience this world of fiction as reality, he also experiences a different reality while awake, that of a world that erupts into song and dance numbers from the 1950s. One example of this is early in the film: Dark is being examined by a group of Doctors quite dispassionately in his hospital bed and towards the end of the exam the Doctors and Nurses, and later the entire staff break into a song and dance routine that involves Dark himself as the main figure singing the song as a solo.

The film has a tangible and very definite American context in terms of the type of characters that are utilised, sets and music used in certain scenes as well direct comparison with the original 1986 episodic television series. This is not to say that the original version is any better because of this situational change, as the original used American narrative devices to advance plot as well as frame the narrative to make the text at once familiar to viewers to understand the way the story was unfolding, as well as a unique experience of its time. All of these techniques are hallmarks of Dennis Potter's projects. However, this current film version does suffer somewhat in comparison to the original. The sheer amount of information required by the audience to understand why the narrative is so confusing is difficult practically due to the limitations in the running time; any text that is reduced from a six hour running time to barely two hours simply cannot contain the required level of detail that is needed in a film that is as narratively complex as this film surely is. Not only is the running time an issue but the fact that the original was split over six episodes was needed to let the experience of viewing one episode "sink in", with its narrative detail that really only comes full circle (and makes sense) at the conclusion of the series.

Whilst the film attempts to bring in the many levels of narrative and plot devices that were contained within the television series, it also must try and act as a stand-alone text. This becomes clear with the alterations and changes that have been made, in particular with the story, the characters, the music and the mise-en-scene. Not only has the location been changed from a very British setting to a stoic American one, but this is enough of a change to alter the entire feeling of the piece. In the television series there is the feeling (that I am sure many New Zealanders can relate to) of governmental control and bureaucracy that exists within the Public Health System, a theme that persists in other Potter created worlds, such as Karaoke (1994). In the television version of The Singing Detective we are witness to a man, Philip Marlowe (Dan Dark in the film version), who has no control over himself physically or as it happens mentally, and is now not only at the mercy of the his delusions, the medical profession but also all the patients in the ward in which he now resides. Marlowe has trouble staying lucid and awake as well as communicating effectively with the real world, which becomes even more apparent when one of the patients that resides in the same ward speaks little or no English. When attempting communication or even a friendly conversation with the patient Marlow becomes infuriated and retreats further into the confines of his imagination. This simple but effective powerlessness is missing from the film version as Dan Dark is confined to a room of his own, as is the case in the American medical establishment.

While viewing the film there are two ways to interpret what is happening onscreen; one is as a stand-alone film, quite separate from the original, and in viewing The Singing Detective in this manner the film succeeds in portraying a man that is tortured by his own demons and is enjoyable to see what happens over the period of his tortuous sickness. The film however is flawed in the aspects of its story (the motivation of characters is never fully revealed and the direction of the plot is messy, whether this is because of the screenplay or direction is hard to tell). The film does, however, make up for these flaws in its use of narrative as well as the overall quality of actors that portray their characters with enthusiasm and the exactness that one comes to expect from the calibre of people involved in a project of this type. The other way the audience can view this film is to interact and compare it to the original. In taking this second case the film is flawed on both levels, i.e. the story and narrative (in the television series), both of which are far superior and concentrate much more in the terms of the ideas expressed by the author to his audience.


THE DVD itself has little in the way of extras (especially in this age of "extra" excess), other than interviews lasting from two to four minutes with the cast and director. The only memorable interview is with Mel Gibson (who acted and produced the film), who discusses psychological aspects of the film as well as Dennis Potter's screenplay and changes to the film from the television series. There would have been more satisfaction in providing more information about the creation of the film and to have had more input in terms of the making of the film from Dennis Potter himself or the director and the reasons for producing the film. The television series was produced and broadcast coming up to twenty years ago, and a comparison between the original and this re-imagining would have been useful to illustrate the differences between both texts.

In terms of Potter's work this film version does fit in with some of his other efforts for the big screen (see Pennies from Heaven (1981), Gorky Park (1983) and Brimstone and Treacle (1982)); at once exciting but far less than the sum of its parts. This can be viewed as an adaptation of another work and much like other adaptations there have been changes made to fit the medium in which it has been produced for. There is no doubt that the producer and director of the film are aware of the importance of the text that they are dealing with and this is evident in the fact that the basic plot has not altered, it is about sickness at once internal and external that is combined with memory, and how we view ourselves in the postmodern condition we live in. Overall, I would recommend viewing the film for all the reasons above as well as being at this time the last produced work of the great Dennis Potter.