Jimmy is a self-proclaimed dinosaur. He doesn't own a computer. His only phone is a landline. He's planning to spend a lazy day organizing his family photos. His plans change when he happens upon a 35-year-old Polaroid that sheds new light on his sister-in-law's unsolved murder.

The Landline Detective was shot in one room with one actor. All of his interactions with the other characters are over the phone. It's an interesting gimmick with a decent premise, but the execution falls short.

The Polaroid in question shows a car belonging to the husband, John, at a location on the eastern coast of Hawaii. It's dated March 27, 1982, the day before John's wife was found dead in their home. John's alibi had been a weekend fishing trip on the other side of the island, but the photograph suggests that he was much closer to home around the time of the murder. Realizing the implication, Jimmy starts making phone calls and asking difficult questions.

Jimmy's no Sherlock Holmes. Solving murder mysteries is clearly outside of his comfort zone. He fumbles through awkward interrogations and trips over red herrings. This actually works in the character's favor, making him both sympathetic and plausible.

Unfortunately, The Landline Detective has a lot of flaws. The production's low budget is painfully apparent. There's a certain artlessness to much of the direction and cinematography. The dialogue is often clunky, both in writing and performance. One could argue that it's a variation of mumblecore, but even with that rationalization, it lacks the engaging naturalness of, say, Steven Soderbergh's Bubble.

The film's biggest flaw might be its length. At two hours, it has a lot of dead air and filler. If it were twenty or thirty minutes shorter, it might have been a more effective slow burn.

Problems aside, I can't say I completely hated it. The mystery at the story's core held my interest, and it's occasionally fun to watch Jimmy stumble through his amateur investigation. It's not the worst two hours I've ever spent, but the flaws outweigh the good stuff.

5 out of 10.

Seen on Amazon Prime.