Law & Order: Criminal Intent (TV Series) Art (2001) User Reviews

The Crazy World Of Art

[ccthemovieman-1 · 9/10 · 26 December 2006]

Something shady appears to be going on in the art world but nothing is revealed until a couple of minutes into the introduction when an art authenticator's wife comes down to her husband's workshop to see if he's there since he didn't come home at night. To her horror, she finds him dead on the floor, shot in the chest. What's more, not far away is a dead woman hanging from a rope! She turns out to be a curator from a museum in Troy. It looks like a murder-suicide....but, of course, that's not the case.

Goren and Eames investigate to find out what the connection is, what really transpired and who is responsible. Right off the bat it's puzzling, especially since there many valuable pieces of artwork worth big bucks that were in the workshop and not stolen in the double homicide. Then again, most episodes in this series tend to be fairly complex, as is shown here in this murder involving artists and just plain greedy, cold people.

Tomas Arana is excellent as the villain "Rudy Langer" and Elizabeth Marvell is good as the bizarre artist "Sylvia Moon."

Bring back great Villain - Rudy Langer!!! Pair him with/against NICOLE!

[movie-viking · 9/10 · 24 October 2008]

The first user comment above well summarizes this twisty, detailed and GOOD second episode of first season Law & Order CI.

Show "ART" (Season 1 Episode 2) to friends who wonder why you like CI when it is at its classic best (i.e.not "preaching" an agenda - just showing us great detection).

As an art enthusiast, I loved the details along the way - the Goren/Eames exchange about the "Monet" - the Langer German talk with Goren - and the Famous Art "LIST". The frustrated art forger woman as frustrated female is good too. Even World War II submarine warfare, the atomic age, and war crimes are plausibly tied into this great episode.

This episode shows the Renaissance Man Genius turned NYC High Crimes Detective Bobby Goren in top form! Eames is classic too with her streetwise potent quips...

Yes, I saw last year's slightly ambiguous NICOLE denouement. But resurrect the great, multidimensional abused genius girl turned mass abuser - Nicole and pit her with/against the equally ruthless proto Nazi - Rudy Langer.

After Nicole, he's the best villain Goren/Eames have faced. Bring Sinister, Witty Rudy Langer back onstage!

Really Really good copies

[bkoganbing · 7/10 · 28 October 2015]

Vincent D'Onofrio and Kathryn Erbe get a really interesting case with the murder of two art critics. It leads them into the fascinating world of art forgery and the money that can be made.

The murder that sets it off is that of a curator of a small museum who is suspicious of a Monet she received as a gift for the museum. Then another critic is killed.

I can't go into the details but the con is specifically directed at rich people who won't admit they've been taken and small museums who lack the sophisticated resources to check for forgeries.

The key is the forger Elizabeth Marvel who has some secrets that even her co-conspirators don't know about. But Vincent D'Onofrio digs them out almost in Monk like fashion.

This one is not to be missed.

The dark side of art

[TheLittleSongbird · 9/10 · 18 July 2019]

The original 'Law and Order' will always to me be the best of the 'Law and Order' shows (other than the UK 'Law and Order', but that feels more like its own separate show or at least how it feels to me). Do feel though, since seeeing them regularly through late night re-runs though that both 'Special Victims Unit' and 'Criminal Intent' are worthy spin-offs, if more in the earlier seasons than the later ones.

"One" was a very good if not completely settled start. "Art" sees 'Criminal Intent' continuing to go strong and actually find it an even better episode. Whereas the original 'Law and Order' and 'Special Victims Unit' saw a slight step down in quality between their respective first and second episodes, 'Criminal Intent' instead got better in this regard which is what it really should be. It got me hooked and there wasn't the feeling of being unsure or having the decision as to whether continue or bail.

Goren and Eames' chemistry gelled and settled more in subsequent episodes, though can't be too hard on the episode on this front because the show has literally just begun.

Wasn't admittedly left completely floored by the denouement, though it is a clever and plausible one.

Besides, "Art" is a fine example of the beauty of 'Criminal Intent' being in how Goren and Eames get to the truth, their methods, Goren's being unusual and the more psychological approach. Very intriguingly done and doesn't come over as overdone or rocky. The writing is a good balance of not being overly-simple or too complicated, treating the viewer with respect with neither making them feel dumb or losing them. The story is a more complex one than the one for "One", with twists and turns that are plausible, don't complicate things too much and are clever. The dark side of art is not a novel concept but is treated very well here.

"Art" is a slick looking episode, like the production values for 'Law and Order' and 'Special Victims Unit' and the music thankfully doesn't intrude or feel ham-handed. The direction has momentum and breathing space, so it's not hard to digest what is going on yet it doesn't become dreary either. The detective methods and psychology are very intriguing, as is the character of Goren. A character brilliantly portrayed by Vincent D'Onofrio and there is a nice softer contrast in Kathryn Erbe. Tomas Arana is not one to forget as Langer and Elizabeth Marvel is just as strong.

In summary, great second episode. 9/10

Law & Order:Criminal Intent-Art

[Scarecrow-88 · 7/10 · 11 November 2010]

A curator for a small museum, Mrs. Ellen(Toby Poser) and a professional art authenticator, Bernard Jackson(Tom Bloom), are found dead in a flat containing priceless paintings which has Eames and Goren curious as to why they were set up as a murder-suicide when it appears that the motive wasn't robbery. In this episode we see that Goren is in fact a fountain of knowledge, not only is his art expertise astonishing, but he also can speak German. Not to get too technical, the plot yields such interesting twists as the forgeries of Jewish paintings(paintings from Jews killed in the Holocaust, confiscated by the Nazis)and a tax scam providing great profits when wealthy owners had their prize work shown in smaller museums. The potential suspects are a German art seller, Rudy Langer(Tomas Arana), who detests Americans and their "inadequate tastes" in paintings and a master forger looking for her own chance to feature original work, Sylvia Moon(Elizabeth Marvel). A specific ingredient found in the paint of a forged Monet unable to be verified turns out to be crushed algae pellets for aquarium fish! The supposed suicidal hanging of the curator just might relate to another one, this one a student who shared a room in college with Moon. Moon also was a student under murdered art authenticator when he was a professor(a sexual relationship is also discovered).

Great, with one small steal from true crime

[wolfstorm-21003 · 7/10 · 1 March 2022]

One of the culprits grinds her paint materials using a mortar and pestle. The mysterious giveaway green flecks in the forged art's paint is from the aquarium algaecide tablets, also ground using the same implements. This would seem to be taken from the Stella Nickell case. She copycatted the Chicago Tylenol poisoning case by replacing capsules of Excedrin in stores with cyanide in order to kill her husband, also causing the death of innocent Sue Snow in the process. She was tripped up by the same green flecks when she tainted the Excedrin in the same bowl she used to crush her aquarium algaecide. See Gregg Olsen's account in his gripping novel "Bitter Almonds".

A great episode nonetheless!

Worst accent ever

[gmketchum · 7/10 · 7 November 2020]

The German art critic, omg. Most constipated, clichéd accent I've ever heard. This man has watched too many nazi parodies. Positively cringe-worthy.