Hugh Laurie, the actor that gives life to the television doctor Gregory House, joins the cast of Night Watch, a crime film starring Keanu Reeves (who made an abortion of a film with a similar title called The Watcher although it was translated here Murder Game) and the recently Oscar-winning By The last king of Scotland, Forest Whitaker (please stand up). Directed by David Ayer (who recently signed his first film, Harsh Times with the great Christian Bale, in a very satisfactory way, although it must be remembered that he has written a few stories, including some very good ones like one of my favorites, Training Day ), Night Watch is based on the script by James Ellroy.
The adaptations of his novels, especially the excellent LA Confidential (where Curtis Hanson must have made a mistake when directing because the rest of what he has filmed is to put his hands to his head) that starred Guy Pearce, Kevin Spacey, Kim Basinger or Russell Crowe among many others, and more recently La Dalia Negra, directed by Brian De Palma (I got to see it recently and it is not one of De Palma's best works), have revitalized a genre abused for years. But, unlike the previous titles, Night Watch is not a novel adapted to the big screen, but a written script expressly written for the occasion by Ellroy.
According to Variety, the film will tell the murky story of a Los Angeles police officer (Reeves), who takes refuge in alcohol after the death of his wife. As if this were not enough, his former mentor in the body (Whitaker) will accuse him of the death of his partner. It is at this point in the story where Hugh Laurie appears, who along with Chris Evans (better known for being Johnny Storm in the 4F) will play the pair of Internal Affairs policemen who investigate the crime.
Although this is not Laurie's first film adventure, previous titles such as Maybe Baby or Girl from Rio in which the British actor starred passed the billboard with more pain than glory, and I remember that in Flight of the Phoenix (another rather discreet despite the motley cast) was also in the cast along with Dennis Quaid and Giovanni Ribisi. We'll see if House's stalwarts push him to pursue film roles.
