A Kind of Murder 2016

As Walter Stackhouse (played by) navigates his dual identities as an architect and aspiring crime writer, his fascination with the murder of a local woman morphs into a personal obsession. His visit to Kimmel, the bereaved husband of the victim, at his used bookstore is shrouded in deceit, as he poses as a customer seeking architectural texts while secretly probing the case. Meanwhile, Stackhouse’s troubled marriage is laid bare, and the subsequent discovery of his wife Clara’s body, eerily mirroring the murder of Kimmel’s wife, sets off a chain reaction of suspicion and accusation.

Detective Corby, fueled by a hunch that the husbands are implicated in their wives’ murders, becomes increasingly convinced of their guilt. Flashbacks reveal a tangled web of deceit and manipulation, exposing Stackhouse’s affair with nightclub singer Ellie Briess and his subtle suggestions to Clara, which may have inadvertently led her to take her own life.

As Corby tightens the noose around both suspects, he cleverly orchestrates a rift between Kimmel and Stackhouse by accusing the latter of being a copycat killer. This masterstroke has Kimmel turning on Stackhouse with renewed fervor, convinced that his nemesis is attempting to frame him for the crimes.

The film’s climax unfolds as Kimmel and Corby give chase to Stackhouse, leading them into the labyrinthine passageways beneath Ellie’s nightclub. In a chaotic melee, Kimmel mistakenly kills an officer, only to realize his error and corner Stackhouse, brandishing a knife. The police respond with fatal force, taking down Kimmel.

As Stackhouse lies wounded on the ground, his smile gradually spreads as he contemplates the blurred lines between fiction and reality. The film concludes with a typewriter clattering out its final words: “THE END.”