Film

V.I. Warshawski

A Chicago private detective stumbles into a murder case while babysitting. V.I. Warshawski is a brisk, funny crime procedural that lets Kathleen Turner be sharp and capable without apology. It's the kind of film that trusts its audience to enjoy a straightforward mystery and a capable woman solving it—no melodrama required. For fans of efficient storytelling and '90s charm.

TMDb rating2.4

If you liked this

Thelma & Louise1991

Released the same year, it's a masterclass in how to make a woman the unambiguous centre of an action film. Ridley Scott directs with style, and the chemistry between the leads crackles. You'll understand why 1991 mattered.

But It's weightier and more fatalistic than V.I.—this isn't a lark. The ending demands something from you that a mystery doesn't.

Thelma & Louise poster

Marnie1964

Hitchcock's great unsung thriller about a compulsive liar and thief. Tippi Hedren carries the film with intelligence and moral ambiguity. Stylish, tense, and deeply strange in ways that linger.

But It's slower than you'd expect from Hitchcock, and the psychology can feel dated. The gender politics are complicated in ways that require thought.

Marnie poster

The Long Goodbye1973

Robert Altman's loose, funny reinvention of Raymond Chandler. Elliott Gould's Marlowe is bemused and capable in a world that's moved on. It's a detective film that doesn't take itself seriously, which is a gift.

But The plot dissolves into mood and character. If you want a tidy mystery with all threads tied, this will frustrate you.

The Long Goodbye poster

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The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Proving Ground 11994

Both center on a capable female detective working a murder, but Proving Ground dispenses with charm entirely. It's what V.I. would be if it chose darkness over wit.

A forensic pathologist and detective hunt a serial killer in Prague. It's a genuine oddity—an American indie thriller shot in Europe with style and intelligence. The heroine is capable and flawed in equal measure, and the film never soft-pedals the darkness.

But It's obscure, low-budget, and has a European sensibility that can feel slow to American audiences. Finding it is half the battle.

Proving Ground 1 poster
More like this (8)

Klute1971

Jane Fonda as Bree Daniels, a sex worker caught in a murder investigation. It's methodical, intelligent, and refuses easy judgement. Fonda and Donald Sutherland make it crackle. The film trusts you completely.

But The pacing is deliberate. It's not a thriller in the conventional sense—it's a character study that happens to involve crime.

Klute poster

Cagney & Lacey1982

Two female detectives solving crimes in New York. This was genuinely groundbreaking television—funny, tough, and smart. The partnership feels earned and real. It's the obvious DNA ancestor of everything V.I. tries to be.

But The production values are early-'80s TV. If you need polish and high production design, this won't deliver it.

Cagney & Lacey poster

Bodywork2022

A female bodybuilder and former cop becomes a private detective in a crime noir. It sounds bonkers because it is, but it commits to the premise completely. Rare, weird, and thoroughly entertaining.

But It's obscure for a reason. The tone is uneven and the budget shows. You have to want to find it and be willing to meet it halfway.

Bodywork poster

Flesh and Bone2015

A woman returns to her hometown and gets tangled in mystery and danger. It's taut, modern, and doesn't condescend to its female lead. Seven episodes, so it moves like a feature film.

But It's darker and more vicious than V.I. The mystery takes a backseat to character trauma, which some viewers find frustrating.

Flesh and Bone poster

Columbo1968

Peter Falk as the rumpled detective who solves murders while seeming harmless. It's the template for the thinking person's detective show. Smart, funny, and genuinely clever about how people lie.

But It's episodic 1970s television. The pacing is leisurely by modern standards. Some find the character's mannerism wearing.

Columbo poster

The Grifters1990

A con artist thriller with sharp dialogue and a cast firing on all cylinders. John Huston's last film, made with precision and a cold eye. It's sleek, cynical, and deeply satisfying.

But No one here is likeable, and the plot is a maze. If you need a moral centre to root for, this film offers none.

The Grifters poster

Memento Mori1999

Like V.I., it puts a woman (several, actually) at the centre without apology or fanfare. Both understand that competence and humour are not in opposition. But Memento Mori is interested in what happens after the mystery is solved—the relationship that remains.

A BBC serial about four older women in a hospital room receiving mysterious phone calls. It's a mystery, yes, but it's really about female friendship, mortality, and the stories we tell ourselves. Deeply human and surprisingly funny.

But It's deliberately slow and meditative. The mystery unfolds on its own timeline, not yours. Some will find it precious or slow.

Memento Mori poster

In the Mood for Love2000

Both are mysteries about discovering the truth, but where V.I. climaxes with revelation and action, In the Mood for Love climaxes with acceptance and stillness. It asks what a detective does after they know, when knowing changes nothing.

Wong Kar-wai's visually rapturous film about two neighbours who discover their spouses are having an affair. It's formally dazzling—every frame is composed like a painting. The mystery unfolds through glances and silences, not plot. It's a detective film that's really about longing.

But There is almost no plot. If you need things to happen, this film will feel like watching paint dry. The pacing is glacial by design.

In the Mood for Love poster

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