The Kid Detective – A Stellar Indie Murder Mystery Dark Comedy

In such a down year as this one has been for the majority of us, it is perfectly normal for audiences to want any reason to feel good. Luckily for us, The Kid Detective may just be the breath of fresh air we need if only to temporarily forget our troubles. This Canadian indie, darkly-comedic murder mystery takes more of an awkward and deadpan approach to the genre, resulting in a more often than not hilarious experience that also offers a surprising amount of depth beneath its simple exterior. That being said, the film and its sense of humor will certainly not be for everyone as it will ultimately go as far as the audience’s ability to get behind its titular character as it essentially rests on his shoulders for better or worse. Thankfully, the casting of Adam Brody in the lead role is definitely not a cause for concern as he brought to the table exactly what the film needed.

The Kid Detective follows Abe Applebaum (Brody), a former highly-regarded kid detective solving trivial small-time mysteries, who has continued his practice off the back of his past success now as an alcoholic, burnt out shell of an adult. Despite all this time, the naive Applebaum failed to truly grow up, developing an arguably cynical worldview that was allowed to proceed unchecked. However, he would soon find himself in a very grown-up situation once a teen girl named Caroline (Nélisse) brought him a case, asking him to solve the brutal murder of her boyfriend. Over the course of his career, Applebaum may have earned plenty of good will amongst his small town as his passion for solving crimes was certainly there but his time as a detective wasn’t always an easy one, also earning some enemies. Unfortunately, this case was unlike those he was used to therefore it would require a level of self-awareness and maturity that he would need to grow into pretty quick.

Nevertheless, Applebaum’s methods, while questionable, were entertaining to watch as he awkwardly went about his business. Meanwhile, the challenges of being an adult and the outside pressure to grow up were still there as his methods were not necessarily effective now and maybe rubbed some the wrong way. In the end, underneath that exterior was a human being capable of feelings such as frustration, confusion, and self-doubt and those moments were just as compelling to watch. The Kid Detective traverses a fine tonal line as it balances humor and drama in an interesting and nearly seamless way, offering subtle changes to reflect Applebaum’s character arc that saw him grow up over the course of the film. All the while, there was still the murder case which was not a trivial one by any means as it offered much more than what appeared on the surface. While that fine tonal line was a cause for concern come the film’s climax, it sticks the landing albeit a rough one.

Ultimately, the best part of The Kid Detective was Adam Brody’s stellar performance as Applebaum. As mentioned, his casting was perfect as his awkward charisma and energy fit the role perfectly. Brody was never not fun to watch as he stumbled his way through the film as he was hilarious thanks to his deadpan delivery, with the humor working more often than not, while also delivering the film’s dramatic beats as the imperfect and damaged detective. While the film was him for the most part, the supporting case still delivered solid performances in their own right. Nélisse excelled as Caroline, the almost counterbalance to Applebaum, thanks to her great chemistry with Brody while Sutherland, as Applebaum’s wisecracking goth secretary Lucy, was a scenestealer thanks to some hilarious exchanges with Applebaum.

At the end of the day, The Kid Detective is a fun little tale that is worth checking out wherever possible before it falls through the cracks at it is definitely worth audiences’ time.

still courtesy of levelFilm

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Keith Noakes

The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.