Ahoy, squirts! Quint here, still recovering from Fanastic Fest and playing catch-up like a crazy person. I have about 10 reviews from FF to write up, plus 2 interviews to transcribe, all to just get back to the place where I was before FF... which was still behind.
But Domino comes out tomorrow, so I gotta put the rest on the back burners for a moment.
What can I say? I love MAN ON FIRE. I think it's a great revenge movie that dips a little too much into the stylized craziness visually. I think MAN ON FIRE was a great revenge flick with superb character work done by Denzel Washington and Dakota Fanning. The wild camera and filters and chemical processing of the film was layered on top of that, but beneath it all was a story that would have worked just as well if it was shot traditionally. It was all about the harshness of the script and the inventive (and interesting) character work.
DOMINO lends itself to the flash and spectacle of the acid-trip visualized style that Tony Scott is becoming known for. The style feels more ingrained with Richard Kelly's script, more a part of the world than in MAN ON FIRE. I guess the closest analogy I can make is that MAN ON FIRE's visual style is like a hawaiian shirt and DOMINO's is like a tattoo. A person can take off a shirt and still be the same person, but the tattoo is a part of you.
DOMINO, for those unaware, is a story of a bored rich girl who takes up Bounty Hunting as a career... Based on the real Domino Harvey this film is kinda real. As the opening credits state: "Based on a true story... sort of." There's a blending of myth and truth to the movie that just made me smile, partially because a lot of the time I couldn't tell which was which.
The film was written by Richard Kelly, one of the best young screenwriters (and director) in the business right now and the film has much of his quirky personality in it, especially in the supporting cast, but I'll get to them in a minute. I never read Kelly's original script and I hear a lot was changed and that Scott reimagined much of it, but I felt Kelly's spirit all over this movie. Who else would write in 90210 cast members for no apparent reason?
I found the flick to be really fun. It's not perfect nor is it a classic, but I really enjoyed it.
Keira Knightley: Adorable and punky. She acts well, too, giving Domino a real sense of strength and attitude that doesn't feel false or terribly cliched. Plus she's damn cute. She's also into this trend of showing her breasts in every movie she does. I'm a fan of that trend and I hope she continues it, however she might want to aim at a cut-off date... preferably before 2045.
Mickey Rourke: With this and SIN CITY, Rourke is coming back in a big way. Bigger than life, meaner than hell and so badass it's not even funny. He's great to watch in the film.
Edgar Ramirez: Is Rourke's partner in the bounty hunting game and there's supposed to be an attraction between him and Domino, but that's not really developed much. There are hints here or there, but it wasn't as pronounced as I expected it to be. That being said, he's damn good in the movie. His acting style is very subtle and underplayed, but has a definite charisma. I expect to see much more of this actor in the near future.
Supporting Cast:
-Walken: Walken rules and this is no exception. But word 'round the bend is that some of Walken's stuff ended up on the cutting room floor and you can feel it in the movie. His nun-chuks line from the trailer is absent from the movie.
-Jacqueline Bisset is great as Domino's mother. I totally buy her as a Hollywood wife/mother and looks like she could totally be Keira Knightley's bitchy rich ex-supermodel mother. She's not in the movie too much, but she does well with the small amount of screen time she has.
-Mo'Nique does a great job as well. Her character is over the top at time (the whole "Blacktino" Springer moment), but she has very real problems and concerns. Her granddaughter is ill and might die, which pushes her into some interesting situations in the flick. I was surprised with the performance she gave.
There are lots of solid performances, from people like Dabney Coleman (hooray! You're still alive! What can I say? I used to watch 9 TO 5 all the time when I was a kid) and Delroy Lindo. I don't think there was one performance that was off, including from the 90210 camp (Brian Austin Green and Ian Ziering, who had to be really cool if they'd appear in a movie like this totally making fun of themselves).
I think some of the pacing is off in the film... it rockets from the beginning to a moment in the desert, then it stops to give us a look at Keira's Knightlies (not complaining) and spends about 15 minutes trying to get back on track again for the finale.
I enjoyed the flick, but can totally see how the visual style can alienate some of the audience. On the whole it's a strange, but fun flick.
So, that's about it for DOMINO. Got lotsa stuff in the works, including my interview with George Romero, a look at the UNRATED LAND OF THE DEAD DVD and so much more, so keep your eyes on the site, squirts. 'Til then this is Quint bidding you a fond farewell and adieu.
-Quint
