SIN CITY: A DAME TO DIE FOR
US, 2014, 102 minutes, Colour.
Mickey Rourke, Jessica Alba, Josh Brolin, Joseph Gordon- Levitt, Rosario Dawson, Bruce Willis, Eva Green, Powers Boothe, Dennis Haysbert, Ray Liotta, Christopher Meloni, Jeremy Piven, Christopher Lloyd, Jaime King, Juno Temple, Stacy Keech, Marton Csokas, Jude Cicolella, Jamie Chung, Julia Garner, Lady Gaga, Alexa Vega.
Directed by Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller.
In 2005, Robert Rodriguez’s strikingly visual film of Frank Miller graphic novels, Sin City, was received with some acclaim. It brought graphic novels vividly life, sometimes to ultra-graphic life, playing with black-and-white photography with unexpected splashes of colour, sinister locations, heavy on black, a range of characters whose facial features were those from comic strips rather than of realism. Visually, Sin City was most impressive.
However, considering the contents of the stories as well as the violence and frequent brutality of the action, Sin City, for many, was something of a depressing experience. Sin City was ugly, a highly amoral world, a world of violent vengeance.
Nine years later, here is a sequel.
The line-up for the cast of the original film was most impressive, many fine actors turning up in all kinds of situations. Several of the characters have returned and some of the original cast have returned, particularly Jessica Alba as Nancy, Mickey Rourke (heavily made up to look more than a touch monstrous) as Marv. But now Clive Owen has been replaced by Josh Brolin, Rosario Dawson as Gail, Powers Boothe as the sinister Senator Roark And Bruce Willis reappears as a ghostly presence.
We are introduced to the tone, style and look of the film with the prologue featuring Marv, his amnesia, his effectiveness with a gun. Then there are three stories.
The first one is quite interesting with Joseph Gordon- Levitt as a cocky young man who assumes that he can have success, as he says, with casinos and women. Off he goes to a casino, meets up with one of the girls there, Marci, and is successful at the slot machines. Off he goes, even more cockily, to play poker with Senator Roark and his odd associates. The young man can shuffle, cut, deal with dexterity – and can also win, to the humiliation of the Senator who does not take this lightly. And wreaks some brutal revenge. Stop! There is a 30 minute or so intermission in this story while we go on to another.
The second story introduces the character of Dwight, this time played by Josh Brolin, photographing a rendezvous between Ray Liotta and Juno Temple to get photos for Liotta’s wife. But, Liotta is more loathsome that we originally think and Dwight descends from the skylight to defend the rather avaricious young woman. Dwight is then contacted by Ava (Eva Green) who might seem to be a dame to die for but, of course, she is a much more ruthless, glamorous and seductive, femme fatale. She wants to use Dwight for her own purposes, wants to get rid of her husband (Marton Csokas), team up with an industrialist (Stacy Keach), while relying on the absolute loyalty and devotion of her chauffeur (Dennis Haysbert, substituting for the late Michael Clarke Duncan). Then she wants to get rid of Dwight, but he returns, with two sexy martial arts assistants and they wreak havoc on the security guards, the chauffeur and Ava.
Then it’s time to return to Jojnny’s story, his getting his fingers and wounds fixed by an eccentric Christopher Lloyd, and back to the slot machines, the Senator’s game, to confront and humiliate him again. Not something he takes lying down.
The third story concerns Nancy, from the original film (Jessica Alba), a dancer in a sleazy bar who wants to kill the Senator because of his causing the death of Hartigan. This means that Bruce Willis can only be present as a ghost, influencing Nancy, appearing just in time for her advantage against the Senator. She is helped by Marv as they ride by bike to the Senator’s mansion, get rid of all his security guards – often, as in the Dwight story, the film referred reverting to black-and-white animation which distances the audience while involving it in more massacre-like killings – and confront the Senator.
At the end, we see, from above, the skyline of Sin City, listening to some observations, which we already know quite vividly, of how evil it all is.
1. The graphic novels of Frank Miller? The contribution of Robert Rodriguez? The initial film, Sin City? Interests, graphic, plots, characters, visuals?
2. The visual style of the film, black-and-white photography, touches of colour? Framing of characters, sequences, action? Animation sequences? The effect on the audience, real/surreal?
3. The title, the dame to die for? Three stories and their connections? Sin City, Basin City? The visuals of the city, interiors, clubs, homes, the mansion, the highways, the countryside?
4. Robert Rodriguez, co-writing, co-directing, director of photography, editing, score?
5. The prologue, the focus on Marv, the character from the initial film? The visual appearance, Mickey Rourke inside the make up? His amnesia, the episode with the gun, the killings?
6. Johnnys story, his voice-over, confident young man, his appearance, his age, his comment about winning with casinos and women? His encounter with Marci? Going to the slot machines, his good luck, winning? The confrontation with the Senator, the other members of the game, the police official and his warnings to John? His abilities to cut, shuffle, deal? His winning, his being the Senator’s son, the Senator not owning him, in contrast with the son who was murdered by Hartigan? The condemnation of his mother as a whore? Walking the streets with Marci, the types and the attacks, the car, getting in, the Senator and his ugly attitudes, breaking the fingers, the shooting? The Senator and Marci’s hands and head? The lapse in time for the second story? And again, John seeking at the doctor, giving his shoes, the eccentricities of the doctor, the amount of healing for the amount paid? Fixing the fingers, the icy pole sticks? John going again to the game, winning, shopping and distributing with his left hand, his bluffs, the Senator shooting him? After the taunts about his public humiliation and everybody talking about it?
7. Dwight’s story, the voice-over, employed by Joey’s wife, photographing from the skylight, the sexual liaison, Joey and his decision to kill the girl, to go back to his wife and save his money? Dwight leaping down, fighting him, defeating, giving the girl a lift? The call from Ava? The four years absence, the purpose, the chauffeur and his tough attitudes, Ava, sexy, the swimming, the nudity? Her motivation, going to her husband, getting rid of him? The fat businessman and striking up a partnership with him? Her hold over the two police, their driving out, one killing the other and then killing himself? The explosion, Ava and the cuts on her face? The fight with the chauffeur, his losing an eye? Dwight’s return, disguise, his two associates, their martial arts, on the rooves of the building, sexy, killing the guards? The fight with the chauffeur, his death? And Ava?
8. Nancy, dancing at the bar, with the staff and the girls, her sitting in her room, contemplating the Senator as he played cards? Hartigan and his presence, ghostly, appearances, the past and the Senator’s son, his suicide, the newspaper headlines? Nancy and drinking, anger, feeling betrayed by Hartigan, the shooting practice, shooting from the stage? Cutting her hair, the wig? The plan? The friendship with Marv, his devotion to her, helping, the bike ride, the killing of the guards, the Senator in the mirror, her firing at the mirror? The distraction of Hartigan’s presence, her shooting the Senator?
9. The final comments on the bleakness of Sin City?
