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Sin City
(18)
Written by Frank Miller, directed by Frank Miller & Robert Rodriguez
On general release from 3rd June, 2005
Reviewed by
This larger than life fantasy is a superb adaptation of Frank Miller's
graphic novels i.e. comic strips. As in his novels, there is endless violence,
but it does not sicken the stomach - you know the blood and gore is totally
unreal. I lost my way in the film sometimes - certain sequences don't
link together but i suppose this may be deliberate given the source material,
but the sheer scale and grandeur of the film is awesome.
It is mainly filmed in monochrome - for example, gun shot wounds show
up as a glowing white - with shadows and silhouettes predominating. But
there are often splashes of colour, for instance, richly coloured cars,
blood, and the glistening lipstick worn by the ravishing looking prostitutes
who populate Basin City (Sin City) and who want to retain control of the
city against the attentions of the police, who are utterly corrupt. There
is also an imaginative and effective use of the blacks and whites being
reversed, as in looking at a photographic negative.
In a nutshell, the film tells three stories in parallel, but only one
of the three main characters - veteran policeman John Hartigan (Bruce
Willis), Marv (Mickey Rourke) and Dwight (Clive Owen) - appear in all
three. Surprisingly good was Rourke, who I thought was a washed up actor.
He plays an ugly monster of a man, who seeks revenge for the murder of
his girl friend, prostitute Goldie (Jaime King), and in doing so is involved
in a lot of ultra-violent scenes. Not far behind in the acting stakes
and charisma was Willis, who rescues a sweet little eleven-year-old girl
from a serial rapist.
Co-director Miller and Robert Rodriguez deserve praise for adapting such
an ambitious project. This movie has lots of style.
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