Dave Herman’s directorial debut, “Able Danger,” a neo-noir surrounding a 9/11 conspiracy theorist and the dragnet he finds himself in after running into a mysterious woman, is a rookie effort to the core while lacking the essential elements that make successful neo-noirs work.
Thomas Flynn, played by Adam Nee, is a 9/11 conspiracy theorist who spends his days as the owner of a liberal coffee shop in Brooklyn (based off the real-life Vox Pop in Brooklyn) and nights as a maverick blogger/barely-published author. His calm life is suddenly in jeopardy when an over-the-top Eastern European femme fatale (played by alluring Hal Hartley troupe-member Elina Lowensohn), shows up at his shop proclaiming to hold the secret hard-dive that would prove the United States government as the architects behind 9/11. This proves to be the catalyst that sparks a series of events which drag Flynn further and further into a labyrinth of lies and deceit.
The problems for this project begin with the fact that it is a cheap rip-off the John Huston classic noir “The Maltese Falcon” and plays as though it is a parody of itself. The increasingly absurd score does nothing to help this misconception. The villains come off as wholesale versions of corrupt cops and evil Germans pulled straight from a 1950’s WB B-movie. But believe it or not, the completely ridiculous fake accents and comical score aren’t the biggest flaw of the film; that honor would have to go to the overly twisted plot structure. In its attempt to follow the template of a classic Dashiell Hammett private eye novella, the creators incorporated an overly complex plot. The twist come one after another, and while you attempt to grasp the significance of the one that just occurred, another twist is coming right up, and they seem to uncover mysteries that don’t make any sense but just exist to set up the next set of shocking discoveries. When one compares ‘Danger’ to another recent, low-budget neo-noir such as Rian Johnson’s splendid debut, “Brick,” the flaws become even more apparent.
Even though it was riddled with an awful score, ridiculous plot and worse accents, the movie was not without its bright spots. Herman’s choices in photographing the movie, such as contrasting a black and white with color TV sets and computer monitors, are slightly interesting, and such choices serve as momentary distractions from the movie’s overall blaring flaws. Able Danger is premiering in New York City on September 11th, in Two Boots Theater and other select theaters in Washington D.C., Oakland and Montreal.
