Gumshoe

A beautifully observed and hilariously funny film about a bingo-caller in a Liverpool working-men's club (Finney) who dreams of writing (and starring in) The Maltese Falcon and recording 'Blue Suede Shoes', only to be plunged into a real murder mystery when he tries to bring his dream world to life. Gumshoe, unlike most pastiches, doesn't get bogged down in references beyond itself. The credit for this is due to Finney, who is careful to make it clear that Eddie is a self-conscious dreamer, and to Stephen Frears who, in his first feature, is similarly careful to anchor the film in the gritty world of petty Liverpool crime before animating Eddie's all-encompassing dreams.