HAve you seen a film that tilted your perception of reality, if only for a short while?
Its funny that you said that, cause just yesterday I saw the film that messed around with me quite a bit. And since no one hasn't bothered to share and Im just dying to present this, so here comes a long one.
Sin City
Directed by
Frank Miller,
Robert Rodriguez and
Quentin Tarantino
Starring
Bruce Willis, Mickey Rourke, Clive Owen, Jessica Alba, Benicio del Toro, Brittany Murphy and
Elijah Wood
Sin City, also known as Frank Miller's Sin City, is a 2005 American crime thriller film written, produced, and directed by Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez. It is a film noir based on Miller's graphic novel series of the same name.
First of all you should know that if Robert Rodriquez And Quentin Tarantino are both directing the same film, then you're in for a good one. Although Rodriquez is the main man with this one. And don't forget that Miller's graphic novel is the foundation of the motion picture.
First thing you notice is that the film is shot in black and white. The thing that makes it more interesting is the occasional usage of other colours like red and yellow. I have to say that if it would have been just another colored picture, then it would lost half of its beauty. Here's a sample from the film:
Now lets get on with the plot. The film consists of 3 parallel story lines and prelude set 8 years earlier. So it has some similarities with Pulp Fiction, although it doesn't mess around with the timeline. So basically the film comes in 4 parts.
The Yellow (Part 1)
Bruce Willis plays John Hartigan, an ageing detective in pursuit of a rapist. Hartigan makes it clear that its his last case and he is willing to die to save the girl who has been kidnapped. Finally he manages to save the girl and kill the rapist, but is shot in the back by his partner. The part ends with showing Hartigan catching his last breath.
The Hard Goodbye
This part begins by showing a one-night stand between Marv( Mickey Rourke) and Goldie. When Marv wakes up, he finds Goldie dead and the police coming to get him. He escapes and swears to find Goldie's killer no matter what. After a trail of bodies he finds the man behind the kill, a sick cannibal named Kevin(Elijah Wood). After the torturing process(which involves sawing off all the limbs, feeding the mutilated Kevin to a dog and finally cutting off his head), Marv heads to kill the mastermind behind all of this. Marv then kill the Cardinal, who worked with Kevin. The cardinal gets killed, but bodyguards shoot Marv. He is taken to hospital, only to be executed in the end.
The Big Fat Kill
This story tell about Shellie( Brittany Murphy), who is harresed by his ex-boyfriend Jackie Boy(Benicio del Toro), and her current boyfriend Dwight(Clive Owen). Dwight chases Jackie to Old Town, where Jackie gets killed by a gang of prostitutes. It turns out that Jackie was cop, so Dwight and the prostitutes must deal with the mob who tries to turn in in their favor. I must say that this is the most humorous part of the film.
The Yellow (Part 2)
It turns out that Hartigan survived after being shot like 10 times and is put to jail. He still recives letter from Nancy, the girl he saved. 8 years later he is released. It turns out the the rapist he killed also survived and has now tuned into a yellow due to surgery. Hartigan must now protect the 19 year old Nancy(Jessica Alba). Finally he manages to kill the yellow dude, but decides to end his life so that they would leave the girl alone.
Now that was the summarise of the plot, so lets get to the part of explaining why this movie is worth seeing. Basically its about showing how cool ultra violent scenes look in black and white. The movie doesn't pay any attention to logic or reality, the good guys can survive endless amount of injuries, including a grenade blowing right next to them(twice) and even a hit by electric chair. It reminds a zombie slasher with limbs and other bodyparts flying around constantly. The humour is black and twisted. All characters are
well played, but the one the dazzled me most was the character of Elijah Wood. Most of you know him as Frodo, but this time he played a mute cannibal close to Lecter's level. If you don't like violent movies, then this not for you. But if you liked Kill Bill, then you are going do adore this.