Time for one of those noir films where you have to stay focused and make sure you don’t miss anything! The film really covers a lot of ground which is pretty good as half of the film is about the first part of the suspect’s double life and then we go to the other. So it’s like the film is actually following the guy’s career path which makes a lot of sense. The villain gets away with quite a bit as the film goes on and the ending isn’t the most satisfying which is what holds this one back a little.

The movie starts with some police officers interrogating Willis. Willis was really drunk and the cops have reason to think he may know something about recent robberies. Willis gets quite upset and even starts a fight but ultimately the cops are forced to let him go. Officer Conroy overhears Willis swear revenge and then shortly afterwards a cop is murdered. Conroy is convinced that Willis is behind this but there is no proof. Then another pair of officers are murdered and Conroy really wants to take Willis down but getting the evidence is the tricky part. Willis also has public opinion on his side so Conroy ends up getting fired from his job for going at this a little too strongly. Well, he will crack this case even if he has to do it as a civilian and follows Willis across the border. Can he really make it out of this alive?

You could say that the opening city is Conroy’s home base since even after being let go from the police force he knows everybody and can tail Willis rather easily. When we switch to Willis’ home base then it’s a lot tougher as Conroy doesn’t know the local gangs or how things work here. In fact he is quickly taken down by a bunch of thugs and only barely survives thanks to Marianna and a kid who spotted Conroy in time. Conroy was a bit sloppy there even if it was because he was just desperate at this point. You still can’t follow just anybody, particularly in a seedy environment like this. It’s just not going to work.

I applaud Conroy’s dedication the whole time though. He never relents in the search or doubts himself at all even when everyone tries to talk him out of it. Conroy knows that he has got his man. Working on your own like that is definitely tough and he doesn’t fall for Marianna’s distractions either. He is completely locked in and ultimately does good. He has to be one of the standout characters in the film although I also give his partner a lot of credit for risking his own career in helping Conroy out the whole time.

Meanwhile Marianna is in a really rocky spot the whole film. She is with Willis but the guy is obviously abusive and isn’t exactly the ideal guy. She has put up with this for a long time and is basically resigned to being with him but this gets more and more unbearable as she learns about him. The relationship was toxic from the start so it’s partially on her as even from the opening greeting he’s putting hands on her and she seems okay with it. It’s once she finds out that there’s another woman involved that it gets more personal. Mix that in with Willis getting more and more paranoid and it’s a recipe for trouble.

It’s clear from her rather rough living expenses that Marianna doesn’t have many options available to her though. Willis basically owns the area and she has no way of getting out. So the whole plot point is a rather tragic one an you wish things could have gone better for her. She definitely tried to help out as best she could even if this wasn’t always a good idea. Following Willis into the Church for example was definitely ill advised. She did not appear to be prepared at all.

Finally you have Willis who is a fairly crazy villain all the way through. He wants pure chaos all the time and really sells the innocent routine. He managed to make a lot of friends at his day job which helps for the alibi. People just seem to like him and it’s a bit scary how well trusted he was despite having this double life. It just goes to show once again that you may not always know someone quite as well as you think you do. The side you see at work is just one part of them after all.

While I definitely don’t like Willis at all, he is probably one of the best fakers I’ve seen in a while. If this was your first Noir title you may actually believe him for the first half because the guy seems really genuine the whole time. I mean fighting a few officers is a massive red flag if I’ve ever seen one but if you get behind that then you’re all set. The film is definitely compelling as you wait for Conroy to take him down.

Ultimately like I said the main weak point here is the ending. It just feels a bit mean spirited even for a Noir title with everything going on. I also think the scenes with Marianna follow suit with her having to take a lot of punishment before Conroy can ultimately come in and put a stop to this. It’s really just a rough situation for everyone involved and shows why you don’t want to have to live in an area ruled by a gangster. It’s just never going to go over all that well and you’re going to really get blasted the longer you hang around there.

Overall, Naked Alibi is a film with a fairly intricate plot and it’s got a lot going for it. The story is engaging and Conroy is a great main character. It also shows how frustrating it can be when you know who the villain is but just don’t have the proof to put him away. It puts you in a really tough spot the whole time. I’d have appreciated getting to see Conroy having a full mano a mano fight with Willis and getting us a happier ending but at the end of the day this is still a film that will keep your attention. It can get rather dark and comes close to breaking through to being overdone but mainly keeps sticks to scratching the edge.

Overall 6/10