Directed by Henry Barrial and written by Ron Jackson, when a neighbour on their floor is murdered, married couple Nick and Lana host cocktail parties in their apartment in an attempt to discover which of their neighbours pulled the trigger. Starring: Jessicah Neufeld, Jason Bernardo, Colleen O’Shaughnessey, Lucy Boryer, Nerissa Tedesco, Ricardo Molina, Jeff Nimoy, Caroline Amiguet, Brian Lally and Thurman Dalrymple.
With Murder & Cocktails taking on board the hidden camera, live-streaming and all access styles, there’s inherently an influencer feel. It’s fitting with their characters who are focused on gossip, success and money but it does at the same time add a rather commercial atmosphere to the film. Then the way it progresses mixes that with a classic soap opera atmosphere, that balance in itself does work but you can sense that it wants more, which is out of its grasp. There’s an attempt to build a dark, twisting edge or even just a biting tone which is hindered by its style.
The story has a good foundation, feeling very much in line with the modern trend of TikTok detectives, people obsessed with unsolved crimes. However, that isn’t then built upon as the leading characters are weak, being quite vapid they struggle to remain sympathetic. There are also a couple of choices which feel cheap, particularly its awkward and somewhat exploitative inclusion of a Trans character. The dialogue can also feel unnatural, especially when accompanied by a score that’s trying too hard.
When that score is sitting atop the performances, it sadly undermines any sincerity that they try to build. Jessicah Neufeld and Jason Bernardo’s leading performances as our sleuth couple are a mixed bag but there are some key moments where their relationship and their drive are well done. The same could be said of the ensemble, there’s a lot of small characters with big personalities and some of them are more convincing the others. Ultimately, they go in for melodrama so if you like that, it will work but if you don’t, it can feel over the top.
Murder & Cocktails had a good idea but the execution lacks style. The story becomes too much of a soap opera rather than leaning into the crime and mystery. Especially when there isn’t a comedic side to balance that out. The writing lacks a natural feel and the ending can feel rather unsatisfying, while the direction is solid but plays it very safe. The performances are mixed and overall feels like they made the leading characters too flimsy, it never feels like they take anything too seriously, more like grifters than detectives.