Lucky Number Slevin Review
Posted by on 04.07.2006
Awful title, but the film’s actually okay
Cast
Slevin - Josh Hartnett Lindsey - Lucy Liu Schlomo - Ben Kingsley The Boss - Morgan Freeman Mr. Goodkat - Bruce Willis Brikowski - Stanley Tucci
Director
Paul McGuigan
Lucky Number Slevin doesn't do itself any favours from the outset. Possessing one of the most ridiculous movie titles in recent memory, it fails to garner much credibility before the titles even have time to run.
The credibility factor is somewhat evened out by the arrival of some movie acting stalwarts. The ever reliable Freeman and Kingsley play big time bosses with an air of ease. They both come across like they have cashed the pay cheque, and are merely turning up on set, being subtly sinister, and going home. Bruce Willis, on the other hand, reprises his hair from The Sixth Sense as Mr. Goodkat. The comb over is about as interesting as it gets for Mr. Willis's contribution to this picture. His charisma is nowhere to be seen, and there are no dimensions to his character. Quiet, moody and as sneaky, sneaky as Mr. Deeds's butler……..but nothing more.
It's a rapid paced, interesting start. Slevin is mistaken for his roommate, and subsequently brought in for subtle interrogation from Jim Carrey's version of God. Then, before he gets given time to make a sandwich he's brought in for slightly more intense interrogation courtesy of Ray Winstone's idea of hell. It works. It's interesting. Fifteen minutes in, and it doesn't take a genius to realise that there is more to all of this than meets the eye.
To bring in chilled out relief to the early proceedings, there just has to be a girl next door. Well, technically there doesn't but there is. That stereotype is played by one of Charlie's little minxes, Lucy Liu. Believe it or not, she is borderline outstanding in the role. Playing off Hartnett's quick witted Slevin with charm and grace, she really is the surprise package of this picture, and delivers an assured performance that will surely raise her star.
As for Hartnett, he plays the cheeky, cocky asshole to perfection. I can't help but feel that he didn't have to stretch himself much for the brashness of his character, but credit where credit's due – he owns it. However, in the attempt of being sinister and menacing Hartnett falls somewhat short of the credentials he earned during the first three quarters of the film. It's not cringing. It's not clumsy. It just doesn't work.
Despite some good performances from some legendary actors, and a couple of impressive outings from the younger players it is the latter half of this film that ultimately halts it's rise above ‘good' territory. What we initially thought would be a fast paced action thriller turns into a character driven dialogue piece devoid of any killer spark. The finale was a predictable, but rewarding pay off, and there were enough good things in amongst these 100 minutes to recommend it for your viewing pleasure. However, a bit more effort could have seen this enter the realms of ‘top films of 2006' because it had the potential. Instead, the plot was too signposted throughout and targeted for an ‘explain everything' demographic.
Moment of the Movie
Every moment Slevin's being a cocky, arrogant shit.
Performance of the Movie
You expect greatness from Freeman and Kingsley, but Hartnett and Lui were pleasant surprises. I'll go with Lucy Liu as Lindsey.
The 411: Aesthetically pleasing, with a couple of cool twists and polished performances, Lucky Number Slevin is a worthwhile theatre experience. For a supposed action thriller, it is quite slow paced and at times comes across as a poor man’s Tarantino production, but for the majority it is a good picture. Hartnett delivers an assured performance amongst actors that I thought he could only polish shoes for after recent disasters, but I can’t help but feel that he didn’t have to dig too deep for this role. I wouldn’t be surprised if he is actually a less troubled version of Slevin. Elsewhere, Freeman, Kingsley and Willis do stellar jobs in unchallenging roles, whilst the quirky Liu impresses as the girl next door. Overall, it’s not as great as it definitely could have been but in terms of easy to watch entertainment, you could do a lot worse than this.
