Sleeping Dogs is the sort of mystery crime thriller that only has one clear conclusion despite the trickiness of its narrative structure. I’m not trying to argue it’s predictable, only that it ultimately does little to reinvent a well-worn wheel and suffers as a result. Look: If I told you the story followed a retired cop in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease trying to solve a case from his past while all his “friends” do their best to divert his attention, what would you surmise the “dark secret” will end up being?

The cop in question is Roy Freeman (Russell Crowe), a widower descending into dementia in an apartment covered in reminders to himself. Lists of medications and their measurements line his bathroom mirror; his refrigerator tries in vain to make sure he remembers his daily chores. His lonely family room is strewn with puzzles. His head is scarred from experimental surgeries to slow his condition. Memories flash through his mind like the embers of a dying fire flittering out of existence, and there’s no one in his life to comfort him.

Years earlier, Freeman was involved in putting an 18-year-old named Isaac Samuel (Pacharo Mzembe) away for the first-degree murder of Professor Wieder (Marton Csokas), a renowned psychologist. Samuel contacts Freeman on the eve of his execution and pleads his innocence. Freeman can’t remember the details of the case or his involvement with it but decides to unravel the truth surrounding Wieder’s murder. He contacts his old partner, Jimmy (Tommy Flanagan), and femme fatale Laura (Karen Gillan). Eventually, the truth unravels.

Look, a story isn’t wholly defined by its ending. I get it. But Sleeping Dogs is otherwise such a tricky, twisty narrative that it’s a little disappointing that once the knots are all untied, it isn’t more than the sum of its parts. The script, adapted by director Adam Cooper and writer Bill Collage from the latter’s own novel, shifts perspectives from suspect to suspect, slowly peeling back the layers of reality until the final reveal. It’s reasonably entertaining for most of its runtime until the obvious denouement.

At least Crowe is around to do the sort of late-period character actor role for which he’s becoming known. This is his second appearance in a lower-budget, direct-to-VOD film this year; the first, Land of Bad, remains one of the better 2024 releases so far. He’s killing it on the “everyman with a twist” role circuit lately and really makes Sleeping Dogs worthwhile for fans of the actor or the genre. That’s not to denigrate the supporting performances by the aforementioned actors, but this sort of film breathes with a strong central presence, and Crowe makes it work.

Otherwise, you know: It has a fun structure until the ending doesn’t quite provide the kind of surprise to make keeping up with the twists and turns feel rewarding.