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MOVIE: Sin City
Starring Mickey Rourke, Bruce Willis, and Clive Owen
Directed by Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller (Miramax)
Reviewed by Bill Holmes
I've concluded that Sin City is an amazing movie for a variety of reasons. It is arguably the greatest comic book movie ever made, as it literally uses the graphic novels as both storyboard and screenplay. It is one of the most violent movies I have ever seen; yet the cinematography somehow enhances and (ahem) neuters the effect at the same time. It may have single-handedly revived the career of Mickey Rourke, a brilliant actor who will hopefully be able to parlay this performance into future roles of merit. And the whole experience is so invigorating, so enthralling, that even casting third rate hack and wanna-be actress Brittany Murphy can't screw it up.
One doesn't need to be familiar with Frank Miller's graphic novels or his characters to appreciate the movie, but those that are swear that what is up on the screen is an incredibly faithful transition. Miller, whose dark take on Batman was a revelation, has created a comic-noir world where pimps, whores and thieves roam free in a surrealistic dance with bad cops and serial killers. It rains a lot in Sin City. People swear and smoke, danger lurks in the shadows and the stink of corruption fouls the air. Robert Mitchum would have loved this place. Needless to say, you will want to leave the little ones at home.
Sin City features three main stories book-ended by set pieces featuring a surprisingly suave Josh Hartnett; the opening sequence was the demo reel that convinced Miller to finally let someone bring his work to the screen. Bruce Willis portrays a tired cop with a bum ticker (gotta love noir-speak!) who tries to save an innocent girl haunted by a pedophile. Crooked cop Benicio Del Toro (in a scene-stealing performance) pesters Clive Owen's barmaid girlfriend, so he must enlist the savage hooker army led by Rosario Dawson. And in the central and most appealing story, Mickey Rourke's hulking Marv wakes up in bed next to a dead hooker - the only woman who ever treated him with a little TLC - and decides to rip the whole town to shreds to avenge her death. There's a gaggle of great plot twists, funny lines and memorable images that will linger long after you exit the theatre, but to detail them here would spoil the experience. You will want to see this movie more than once, but the first viewing will blow you away.
The cast list is amazing - younger stars like Jessica Alba, Alexis Bledel and Nick Stahl (unrecognizable as the creepy villain Yellow Bastard) mix well alongside veterans Powers Boothe, Michael Madsen and the great Rutger Hauer. Nicky Katt is hilarious in a small role, and Carla Gugino...well, let's just say that the word "guginos" is now a permanent part of my vocabulary. Even Quentin Tarantino gets into the act by directing a scene between Owen and Del Toro that is reminiscent of the "accident" scene in Pulp Fiction. But make no mistake - this is Mickey Rourke's movie all the way.
As good as the rest of the cast is - and there are many very strong performances - Rourke is simply playing at a higher level. From the moment we see him, his Marv is mesmerizing...you cannot take your eyes off of him. Buried under layers of prosthetics, Marv is a tortured soul equally capable of manic violence and tender moments. He rages, loves, hurts and suffers, and Rourke's gravelly voice-over narration enhances the atmosphere of the episode. Often he has no more to work with than a change in facial expression, but Rourke can do more with his eyes than many actors can using their entire body. Besides the action, Marv also get many of the best lines in the picture, and when he's not onscreen there's a little less magic going on. I doubt that the Academy voters will touch Rourke (or Sin City) with a ten-foot pole, and that's a damned shame. I doubt there will be five better performances this year than his. The DVD will be out later this year and will contain the three full stories (each was filmed in its entirety according to the source material and then chopped to weave together) plus extras. Naturally, a fuller Special Edition in 2006 will follow this release, hopefully filled with extras, outtakes and features. I believe Sin City will be remembered as a film that helped change the shape of moviemaking, and I recommend it highly. And Marv fans, fret no more - Sin City 2 and Sin City 3 are already slated for release in 2007.
© 2005 - Bill Holmes