The so-called Grey Lady hovers over the superstitious characters and the surreal world of this direct-to-consumer video release. In historic Cape Cod, the supernatural presence of the Grey Lady comforted the wives as they awaited the safe return of their seafaring menfolk. But in the film, she would appear to place a curse on the victims more than to provide a safe haven for members of the Doyle clan.

The protagonist is James "Jimmy" Doyle, a decent hard-working Boston detective, whose sister and fiancée are murdered in what appears to be a string of cult killings dominated by the symbols of the "crown" and the "rose." Doyle follows the clues to picturesque Nantucket Island where in the sleepy community, two psychopathic members of the Doyle family continue their killing spree.

Starting at the Crown and Rose pub, Doyle discovers the whereabouts of his long-lost auntie Lola who has taken up residence on the island. Lola alone knows the deep, dark secrets of the Doyles when young Jimmy's father was caught in flagrante delicto in bed with his aunt Lola at the unfortunate moment in which Jimmy's uncle Tim surprised them. A fight ensued, and the enraged Uncle Tim was stabbed to death.

Little Jimmy always believed erroneously that his dad was the killer of his own brother. The brother-and-sister team of little Perry and Eli (Beth) never knew the truth either. But that didn't stop them from slashing their way through the Doyle family in a spate of revenge murders much like Orestes and Electra team up to murder their mother Clytemnestra and her lover Aegisthus in Greek mythology.

While the performances were good and the Nantucket scenery was beautiful, the film unfortunately lacked credibility. The tawdry nature of the family secrets, the incompetent police investigative work, and the overall sense of lawlessness both in Boston and Nantucket were extremely unpleasant features of this film.

In 1931, American playwright Eugene O'Neill attempted to modernize Aeschylus' tragedy "The Oresteia" in a lengthy play entitled "Mourning Becomes Electra," placed in a New England setting. The filmmakers of "Grey Lady" are attempting to channel O'Neill, but the film lacked O'Neill's psychological depth.

Early in the film, Detective Doyle comes across a line of poetry that reads, "In our sleep, pain which cannot forget, falls drop by drop upon the heart." Another quote suggests that the only way to achieve wisdom is through suffering. Of course, these lines are from the Greek tragic playwright Aeschylus in the opening play of his trilogy, the "Oresteia." His fifth-century B.C. play chronicles the dysfunctional family of the House of Atreus and the killing of the husband Agamemnon by his wife Clytemnestra. In this modern nightmare on Nantucket, Tim and Lola do not quite measure up to either the larger-than-life figures of Greek tragedy or their post-Civil War counterparts as devised by Eugene O'Neill.

An American drama; A story about a Boston homicide detective who searches for clues about a serial killer that murdered both his sister and his partner which leads him to Nantucket, an island where he uncovers secrets about his family's past. The main problem with the film is it doesn't spend enough time on character development before launching into overwrought plotting. The pacing fails because of a sketchy main character. Although it is absorbing as a whodunnit, with such crude methods of viciousness and so many plot turns it felt forced and hard to engage with. It boasts a lovely setting and all the technical elements are tick-boxed for a modern drama.

A great mystery will provide you clues to assist in solving the puzzle as it moves forward. There have been a number of these made over the many decades movies have been around. A good mystery provides some of the information you need but not enough to aid you and in the end can either be satisfying in how the story is told or in the resolution. Most movie mysteries fall into this category, falling just a tad shy of being great. GREY LADY falls into that category.

Doyle (Eric Dane) is a Boston police detective who is romantically involved with his partner Maggie (Rebecca Gayheart). So much so that she is now pregnant, a fact she discovers just before they head out to work. On the way they receive a 911 distress call, a woman claiming she is being attacked. They answer the call only to find that it was a trap set up for them. Doyle is shot in the shoulder and Maggie is killed, an incision left in the back of her neck.

Fast forward to months later. Doyle is officially off the case and on leave. He's headed to Nantucket, a place he once visited with his family as a child and the Grey Lady of the title, a name the islanders have to the island. Before she died in his arms Maggie gave him a clue, the heart and crown. That clue has led him here to a pub of that name, the only link that he can come up with. On the ferry to the Nantucket he meets a few others heading that way, a young woman named Eli (Carolyn Stotesberry) and a somewhat eccentric lady named The Duchess (Laila Robbins),the owner of an art gallery on Nantucket.

When the boat docks Doyle is greeted by Johnson (Adrian Lester),a local detective sent to take him to speak to police chief Maguire (John Shea). Doyle had phoned ahead seeking help and Johnson is there to assist him. While Johnson has no problems helping him, Doyle is not an easy nut to crack. He's surly and not forthcoming with information. The locals continue to help Doyle even after his boss back in Boston tells him on the phone he is off the case and pending dismissal of he pursues it.

Here is where things first begin to get murky. We know the set up, we know why Doyle is here…but that's all. The amount of evidence that would lead him here is minute at best. And yet here he is, chasing down small bits and pieces that we as viewers are not privy to. This is where we deviate from a great to a good mystery. How can we understand all that's happening when we have no clues to decipher? The plot moves forward and sifting through the bits and pieces we gather we begin to see where it's going. More murders occur on the island. It appears the killer has followed Doyle and for some reason has set his sights on anyone close to him. As Doyle makes friends some find themselves deceased. He grows close to an artist on the island named Melissa (Natalie Zea) to the point they may become an item. It's a slow attraction the two build over time and not one where he abandons his past love to jump in bed with a new woman, something nice and new in a movie.

The film moves forward to an inevitable conclusion where Doyle will face off against a killer he now can identify. What takes it up a notch is the story beneath the story. Is there a secret Doyle must discover in his search for the killer that involves him and his family personally or was it random? And if there is something else going on how can we figure out what that is if we are not presented with any information? By the end of the film all is revealed and the bits and pieces we were given become more obvious.

The movie is well crafted with a great look at Nantucket that relies less on the tried and true vacation hot spots and more on what the locals would see. The cinematography is well done capturing what appears to be a non-stop fog that rolls across the island most of the time. The acting on all counts is wonderful with each character portrayed as believable no matter what the circumstances.

In the end I enjoyed watching the movie from start to finish. Some will find themselves frustrated with the lack of clues and information, confused when there really was no reason to have things portrayed this way. But if you stick it out to the end you'll find a satisfying ending that closes the circle and makes it all apparent.