Movie review: Adrien Brody shines in 'Night'

Oscar winner Adrien Brody has a knack for sniffing out scandal in his new movie, "Manhattan Night."

He delivers a deft star turn as Daily News crime writer Porter Wren in this twisty but derivative thriller that's as hard-boiled as an egg-salad platter. Cue the jazzy music, noir-y narration ("She was a mystery I couldn't walk away from ... ") and the irresistible femme fatale dressed in white — which obviously masks her very dark past.

Based on a 1996 novel by Colin Harris, the film follows Wren, a devoted family man married to a doctor (a low-key and believable Jennifer Beals). He's heading down a dark and nasty big-city rabbit role, drawn in by a seductive widow (an uninhibited and unclothed Yvonne Strahovski, known for "Chuck"). She entreats Wren to get to the bottom of her husband Simon's unsolved death.

Adrien Brody taps New York, tabloid roots in 'Manhattan Night'^[1]

Adrien Brody hits the red carpet for the premiere of his latest film "Manhattan Night" in New York City on May 16, 2016. Brody plays the main character Porter Wren, a columnist and crime reporter for the Daily News that begins to pursue a murder mystery but ends up in a web of lies, blackmail and an affair.

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Stars arrive to the premiere of 'Manhattan Night'

Simon (Campbell Scott) was an out-there filmmaker with various kinks. One of them was videotaping, covertly or openly, encounters of every sort. Cameras tucked into pocketbooks and on building sites are forever capturing everything. Wren finds himself in a knotted tale of blackmail and sexual depravity and, eventually, in "Saw" territory, thanks to an ankle lock and a hard-to-reach key.

Writer and director Brian DeCubellis bathes the screen in dark shadows and provides fluid pacing. If you like your entertainment pulpy — and don't mind swallowing cliches along the way — this "Night" is worth a look.

Adrien Brody defends Woody Allen against sexual allegations ^[2]