“I’m always running to the place where something bad just happened,” says Porter Wren (Adrien Brody) early on in Manhattan Night, which seems to account for his involvement in this imitation noir. Porter works as a columnist for a New York publication; “I used to believe that my writing could change things. Now I simply hope it’s enough to provide for my family.” It's hard to imagine that a small column could support a household, let alone a family of four—or even one person (unless they were someone like J.J. Hunsecker, and Porter isn’t)—so when he describes his Manhattan apartment as a "miracle," the only truly amazing thing is that he can afford it on what must be a modest salary. Even though his surgeon wife Lisa (Jennifer Beals) is probably the one covering expenses so he can pursue his career, Porter carries on an affair with Caroline Crowley (Yvonne Strahovski), the widow of Simon Crowley (Campbell Scott), a well-known film director and young rebel whose body—or what remained of it—was discovered in the wreckage of a building under construction. Caroline asks Porter to look into Simon's death, which seems illogical since a) she was present when it occurred and wasn’t simply an observer, meaning b) any information he uncovers could be used against her, something he points out to her later on. The only reason Caroline would do this is likely that she wanted a chance to seduce Porter, but he's so taken with her and the life she leads—"I just rode in an elevator with Leonardo DiCaprio," she tells him during one of his visits to her apartment; unfortunately, Leo got off at another stop (where a better movie was probably being filmed)—that all it would take is asking “voulez-vous coucher avec moi?” to get his attention. Porter’s fascination is so intense that he needs no more reason to contact her than a gag comic from a Bazooka Joe box—though where he'd find it in the story is anyone's guess.

Source on TMDB