Month: November 2016

Today’s quick review: Lucky Number Slevin. Josh Hartnett stars as Slevin Kelevra, a down-on-his-luck man with a wry sense of humor who gets swept up in a case of mistaken identity when he goes to stay with his childhood friend, Nick, in New York. But Nick is nowhere to be found, and before the day is out, Slevin has been hauled in front both the Boss (Morgan Freedman) and the Rabbi (Ben Kingsley), the heads of two rival gangs. Apparently Nick owed money to both gangs, and now Slevin is given just days to work off Nick’s debts. Making matters more complicated is the mysterious professional killer known as Mr. Goodkat (Bruce Willis) who seems to have Slevin in his sights. Slevin’s one ally is Lindsey (Lucy Liu), Nick’s inquisitive next-door neighbor. Armed with only his wits, Slevin has to find a way to pay off “his” debt and worm his way out of a decades-long rivalry between the Boss and the Rabbi.

Lucky Number Slevin is a powerful example of what happens when you combine stylish storytelling, a well-constructed plot, and a healthy sense of humor. The setup is interesting, and it spirals nicely into the later plot. From the very beginning the story introduces questions with no clear answers, and the reintroduction of these threads boosts an ordinary tale of mistaken identity into something much more intricate and satisfying. The twists keep coming, until by the end the film has grown into a credible crime drama while retaining its comedic elements.

The characters go a long way towards establishing the tone of the movie. Slevin’s attempts to talk his way out of situations are usually unsuccessful but always amusing. His patience and sense of humor at his mistreatment give him a sympathetic quality, while his proactive efforts to resolve his problems turn him from a passive victim into an underdog. Lindsey acts as his confidante, co-conspirator, and love interest. Her questions are always to the point, and she helps Slevin figure out what information he is missing and what he should do next. Liu and Hartnett have real chemistry, and their scenes with each other help glue the movie together.

The dialogue is witty, fast-paced, and a bit too uniform. Everyone in the universe seems to partake in the same banter, with their own similar observations on the ironies and incongruities of life. The good news is that this style of writing leads to plenty of intellectual bubblegum, from clever metaphors and subtle jabs to blink-and-you’ll-miss-them jokes. Fans of this type of writing will have plenty to look forward to. The bad news is that eventually the cleverness begins to wear thin. The key exchanges in the movie are buried in a flurry of verbal sparring, and the viewer has to play close attention to catch everything.

Lucky Number Slevin is a movie with a little bit of everything. Its impressive crime-genre plot is supported by witty dialogue, fun characters, and stylish presentation. Watch if if you’re in the mood for a satisfying crime drama layered with humor and zest. Skip it if you’re looking for an easy watch or if you prefer your dramas unadulterated. 7.8 out of 10 on IMDB.

Today’s quick review: The Singing Detective. Robert Downey, Jr. stars as Dan Dark, an irascible noir writer who is hospitalized with an acute skin condition. From his hospital bed, his mind escapes into fiction, replaying scenes from his first book with him in the starring role. Wracked with pain and delusion, he receives treatment from a psychiatrist (Mel Gibson) who helps him work through issues from his past, using passages from Dark’s first book to get at the heart of his distrust and sexual dysfunction. During his convalescence, Dark is visited by his wife (Robin Wright), the object of extreme scorn or greatest adoration depending on how paranoid he is feeling that day. Despite the successful treatment, the lines between Dark’s reality and his fantasy begin to break down, taking the movie to its peculiar ending.

The Singing Detective is a bizarre film. Robert Downey, Jr. does a great job of showing the restoration of a nasty misanthrope to something more nearly human. He gradually dials up the charm and goes from a detestable character to a truly likeable one. Likewise, Mel Gibson plays off him well in their therapy sessions, pushing him just enough to get a reaction without going too far. Despite their somewhat awkward character, these are the best scenes in the movie.

But as a whole, the movie is missing something vital. On paper it is a stylized look at illness, neurosis, and the nature of reality, propped up by a noir subplot and carried by good acting. On film it is a messy look at rampant paranoia and Freudian disorders. The audience may enjoy seeing the effects of Dark’s recovery, but actually watching him work through his disturbing issues provides little catharsis.

The stylization hits a sour note as well. The noir subplot lacks verisimilitude and resolution. It mostly serves as a vehicle for Dark’s repressed psychological issues and his constructed persona of a confident, well-adjusted detective. The puzzle of matching the novel’s imagery to traumatic incidents from Dark’s past is interesting, but the audience is not given enough information to guess ahead and the answers are mostly depressing.

The conceit of the singing detective also has little payoff. Dark’s detective moonlights as a lounge singer, the jumping-off point for a handful of musical numbers. But none of these are particularly memorable, and they only serve to needlessly exaggerate Dark’s descent into madness. The blurring of realities derails an otherwise credible recovery arc in favor of a more surreal ending. The extreme unreliability of the narrator makes it useless to track which facts are delusional and which have a basis in reality. Dark’s lucid moments are not sufficient to establish truth in the face of an ever-changing narrative.

Overall, The Singing Detective is a confusing and unsatisfying movie that is easily skipped. Its interesting premise and good acting largely go to waste in a sea of unreliable narration and Freudian analysis. There is a puzzle to the movie that fans of psychoanalysis or the original television series might get more out of, but for anyone else, the interesting aspects of the movie have been done better elsewhere. Watch Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang, also starring Robert Downey, Jr., for a much more amusing take on a meta-noir story. Watch The Brothers Bloom for a much more fulfilling take on storytelling, freedom, and blurred layers of reality. Otherwise, steer clear of The Singing Detective. 5.6 out of 10 on IMDB.