Based on Romanian author E.O. Chirovici’s 2017 crime novel “The Book of Mirrors”, the new film “Sleeping Dogs” hands Oscar winner Russell Crowe a meaty and surprisingly heartfelt role. He plays a retired homicide detective who is drawn back into a long unsolved murder case after undergoing a radical experimental procedure for Alzheimer’s disease. How does a cold case and an experimental treatment connect? Well, in a kinda silly yet surprisingly poignant way.

“Sleeping Dogs” marks the feature length directorial debut for Adam Cooper who works from a screenplay he co-wrote with Bill Collage. Their story takes on several different appearances. At times it resembles a somewhat gritty crime thriller. Other times it plays as a moving character drama. But at it’s core lies all the elements of a classic whodunit. Maybe not the most well-oiled whodunit you’ll watch. But a compelling one made all the better thanks to its veteran lead actor.

While perhaps no longer in the heyday of what has been a marvelous 35-year career, Russell Crowe is still finding an array of form-fitting roles. Such is the case with “Sleeping Dogs” where he plays Roy Freeman, a former detective suffering from severe dementia. Roy’s condition has progressed to the point where he can no longer remember anything about his career or family. His house is lined with strips of tape inked with information that covers everything from his name to how to heat up a TV dinner.

Roy recently underwent an experimental procedure focused on synaptic regeneration. The hope is that over time it will reverse his condition and reclaim his memories. As part of his mental exercises his doctor instructs him to stimulate his brain. And what better way than through books, jigsaw puzzles, and maybe even a real-life murder mystery.

One day Roy is visited by an advocate for Isaac Samuel (Pacharo Mzembe), a prison inmate who’s on death row for the brutal murder of a college professor named Joseph Wieder (Marton Csokas). With his execution date fast approaching, Isaac requests to speak to Roy who was one of the interrogating officers on the night of his arrest. We learn that Isaac was pressured into signing a confession but has since vehemently professed his innocence. He sees Roy as his last chance to prove it. The problem is Roy remembers nothing about the case.

From there Cooper takes an unexpected diversion. After a person of interest named Richard Finn (Harry Greenwood) winds up dead, we get a lengthy flashback revealing his connection to Professor Wieder. Through it we’re also introduced to Finn’s love interest and Wieder’s research partner, Laura Baines (Karen Gillan) as well as the professor’s ever observant handyman, Wayne Devereaux (Thomas M. Wright). Like every good whodunnit, all fit nicely onto the list of suspects, each with their own possible motives.

Meanwhile Roy begins digging deeper into the case which leads him to reconnect with his old partner Jimmy (Tommy Flanagan in a “Gladiator” reunion with Crowe). Jimmy clearly wants Roy to let sleeping dogs lie which immediately adds him to our growing pool of suspects. From there the mystery intensifies as Roy’s treatment shows signs of working and certain memories start rushing back.

The story takes Roy on quite the journey – one marked by uncertainty, sadness, and inevitably violence. The revelations that come throw us several curveballs, some of which are a little far-fetched and others that hit their mark. Perhaps most effective is the ending which you begin to suspect yet that still makes for a solid payoff. And driving it all is Crowe whose well-modulated performance brims with authenticity and nuance.

While it could be tempting to be skeptical after reading its synopsis, “Sleeping Dogs” has a surprisingly smart and layered story with enough of its own identity to get through its handful of flaws. Not everything clicks firmly into place. But it’s hard to push back too much when a filmmaker has you as invested as I was. “Sleeping Dogs” is out now in select theaters.

VERDICT – 3.5 STARS