"Sin City"

Reviewed by Chris Cappola
Starring Jessica Alba, Bruce Willis, Elijah Wood, Josh Hartnett, Rosario Dawson, Clive Owen, Nick Stahl, Mickey Rourke, Brittany Murphy, Michael Clarke Duncan, Jamie King, Michael Madsen. Directed by Robert Rodriguez. (2005, Dimension)

'Sin City' is unlike any movie. It is a thunderstorm of ravishing colour, vivid imagination and stylish, slick and attentive direction. Quite simply, it's hard not to be entranced by the masterful skill from director Robert Rodriguez who adapts the comic book into a perfectly executed array of bleakness, oddity and intrigue. It is a masterpiece of a painting but as a film it is an acquired taste and falls flat too quickly.

'Sin City' is a town full of corruption, despair and darkness. The story follows three arcs of "heroes" trying to rid the sins of the horrid city. The first focuses on Hartigan (Bruce Willis), a tough-talking honest cop who saves an 11-year old girl from a serial rapist (Nick Stahl). The second arc follows the strong but ugly Marv (Mickey Rourke) who falls for a beautiful prostitute (Jamie King) who is murdered and he searches to avenge her death, but it takes him on a journey involving the seediest of the Sin City habitats. Finally, Dwight (Clive Owen) is a protector of the city's prostitutes who helps them cover the death of a police officer that could ruin their positioning in the city. A plethora of characters are entangled in these stories including Jessica Alba's dancer-with-a-heart-of-gold, Rosario Dawson's sassy prostitute, Josh Hartnett's hit man, Elijah Wood as a psychotic carnivore, Benicio Del Toro's sleazebag and turns from actors including Brittany Murphy, Devon Aoki, Alexis Bledel, Michael Clarke Duncan, Powers Boothe, Carla Cugino and Michael Madsen in small but well-chosen roles.

Rodriguez uses his entire cast to good use and as a director is aware of their strengths as a performer and most are simply echoing roles they are used to like Willis, Madsen, Murphy and Rourke who have played these roles in the past. Does it make it a better film? Not entirely because they aren't evoking too much interest from these characters. Willis is effortlessly playing his role, but it's also something he has done before and it would have been interesting for Rodriguez to experiment a little and play his actors against type. To assemble a cast this good is a testament to the allure of the director who must have a lot of friends or must be a revolutionary director that every actor wants to work with him. It might be a bit of both because most of these actors have worked with him in the past, but it's also like Tarantino of the 90's - everyone wants to be in a Robert Rodriguez movie because it's the coolest projects to be associated with in today's movie business.

From a visual standpoint, 'Sin City' is one of the most innovative, raw and distinctive movies of this millennium. It is an experiment and Rodriguez is a precise, attentive and revolutionary director who allows his creativeness to come out into his painting. Everything from a technical perspective is just right from the great music score to the editing and particularly the sensational visual effects. Unfortunately, the script falls flat in too many sections and it gets a little unpleasant and boring at times. Willis' arc is by far the weakest of the stories and doesn't really set fire like the other two. It also gets a little talky at times with its central actors talking too much dialogue and not enough action, which is the point but it numbs the movie somewhat. It also doesn't help that none of the performances are particularly interesting. Perhaps the aspect that ruins the film is that by being such a feast for the eye, it becomes a distraction on concentrating on the story, which isn't as interesting. It becomes easier to be enthralled by the visual components of the film that the story and performances are inferior.

Robert Rodriguez's attention to detail and vivid imagination is sensational and he has made a bold, risky idea with the film that pays off well. At its core, 'Sin City' is more about taste and an open-minded attitude to the concept and visual style. It's not 'Spider Man' and isn't anything that has come around in the past - it is a film noir, comic-book adaptation that incorporates many varying ideas and condensing them into a unique film that belongs in a genre of itself. An emphasis on the script, the stories and casting against type would have made this a stronger film but ultimately, it's a visual masterpiece that is only memorable for its technical components and is forgettable in other pivotal areas.
out of 10
- Chris Cappola's Reviews

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