I was wholly unfamiliar with the character of Dick Tracy when Warren Beatty’s film graced our screens in 1990, but I went to see it anyway and remember being somewhat perplexed by the Batman-style set designs, ludicrous make-up effects and baffling crime drama narrative. Watching it again 23 years later, Dick Tracy is still a bizarre passion project, but clearly one that was shared by half of Hollywood’s A-List. While the plot still doesn’t quite come together, Beatty is always interesting to watch, and the parade of clownish villains keeps us entertained we recognise the likes of Al Pacino, William Forsythe, James Caan and Dustin Hoffman under buckets of latex and make-up. Vittorio Storaro’s cinematography looks gorgeous, highlighting the beautiful sets created by Harold Michelson and Richard Sylbert, but there’s still something a little odd and wooden and clunky about the whole thing. And it’s probably all Madonna’s fault.
Dick Tracy
