LUCKY NUMBER SLEVIN MOVIE REVIEW

LUCKY NUMBER SLEVIN
As soon as I finished watching Lucky Number Slevin, I could foresee an arduous task that lay ahead - reviewing the movie. The odds of a person being struck by a meteorite is ten trillion to one. I am sure that the odds of seeing an intelligently made movie isin't that bad but getting to see one sure is a rare sight. Lucky Number Slevin is one such. Here comes the arduous task that I mentioned - now reviewers have to make sure their reviews don't pale in comparison with the movie. The rookie that I am at writing reviews, I am afraid this review will only see the white end of the spectrum. Nevertheless I shall still tackle my first nemesis. (I probably take this way too seriously :D.)

Slevin could be best described as a modern day “Hitchcockian” Thriller. I am not quoting that it borrows elements from Hitchcock movies, just that this is probably how Hitchcock would have made movies if he had been directing now. There exist very few Hitchcock movies that aren't critically accoladed. So it comes as a complete surprise to me that Slevin slipped quietly into the shadows. (Was it because the movie was constantly compared with The usual suspects , The sixth sense or Snatch that nobody wanted to watch?) The movie does possess a few flaws (which movie doesn't), the major one being it's year of release. Just like how The Matrix revolutionized the concept of action in films or how Pulp fiction revolutionized story telling, Slevin would have left its mark on hollywood if it had been released ten years earlier. So what if we have a seen a few films in the same genre, it doesn't hurt to see one more, especially if it promises to be as entertaining as it's predecessors.

Though Slevin follows a relatively linear plot line, it's complex because of all the twists that it offers periodically. Unlike The Usual suspects, where the finished jigsaw falls right on your head when you didn't have the slightest idea you were supposed to put pieces together, Slevin starts piecing itself together halfway through. Hence the problem - I dont want to give too much away and at the same time I dont want to end up saying nothing. After the opening montage filled with a barrage of bizarre murders, we find ourselves at a relatively empty airport lounge, one of it's occupants a late twenty-ish man. His facial expressions and body language immediately lets you know that he wants to skip town, pronto. The young man soon finds himself in conversation with a stranger (to us it's Bruce Willis on a wheelchair). The stranger spins a brief yarn, (set in 1979) about the consequences a man and his family faces because of the huge debt he owes, losing everything that he borrowed on a race horse. It also involves a "Kansas city shuffle", the definition of which eluded me till the end of the scene. ( WARNING!! Unwanted Trivia : Thanks to good ol' wikipedia.com here is the proper definition for people like me who are unfamiliar with the term. Kansas City Shuffle is a neologism that refers to when one looks left when they should be looking right. A more evolved definition is thus: a "Kansas City Shuffle" is a most clever deception, one that requires thought on the part of the inciter and great ignorance on the part of the deceived. The primary goal of the Kansas City Shuffle is to catch one completely off-guard and unaware.) The definition makes it more than clear what the plight of the young man is right after the conversation ends.

It is only at this point Josh Hartnett's character, the quick witted, never-know-when-to-shut-up, Slevin Kelevra is introduced. A character whose luck seems to have run out recently and in the immediate future, is about to get worse. Just coming into town, he thinks it is a capitol idea to let himself into his friend Nick fisher's currently empty apartment. Not giving him any time to settle down he is flooded by visitors, first being the friendly, very talkative, animated neighbor Lindsey (Lucy Liu), who also happens to be a coroner at the morgue. Soon after her absence, enters Elvis (Dorian Missick) and Sloe (Mykelti Williamson), two comic looking henchmen, looking for Nick fisher. Slevin soon finds himself a victim of mistaken identity, being forcefully dragged to meet The Boss (Morgan Freeman) in nothing but a towel. The Boss soon explains to him how critical Nick Fisher is to his operations. Having lost his son to a successful assassination attempt by a rival gang head by The Rabbi (Ben Kingsley), the Boss seeks retribution (quoting the bible, the boss calls it Lex Talionis, the law of retaliation) by asking Nick Fisher to assassinate The Rabbi's son in return. Why Nick? Because he owes him a grand total of $96000 or in the Boss's own eloquent words, "Why should I go out and pay someone else when I have already paid you?". After the brief meet, Slevin finds himself hauled off once again from his apartment, only this time to meet The Rabbi. Here he learns that Nick fisher owes The Rabbi too, an elegant sum of $33000, and he has three days to pay it back. It is quite evident that Mr.Goodkat (Bruce Willis), who reveals himself as a world class assassin, is working in cohorts with both gangs, setting Slevin up to take a huge fall. To top all this he is also constantly monitored by detective Brikowski (Stanley Tucci) who is keeping a close watch on both gangs. From this point on you expect a comedy of errors where Slevin would try to weave his way out of the precarious situation that he has put himself in. But surprisingly that never happens and from this point on the story can be best described as a roller-coaster ride with multiple twists and turns. Anyone would agree with me when I say that the best way to experience a roller-coaster is to ride it.

The best that any story like this could ask for is a good cast to support it and luckily Slevin gets it. Good acting all around, especially by Lucy Liu. Though I felt her character was unessential, you wouldn't see another female face (except for two extras) in the film's entirety. So I guess her character is essential now, huh? It is initially hard to accept Morgan Freeman as a crime lord after seeing him portray every "goody" role out there. But he still manages to convince you, and hey! That's what good actors do. I still cant put my finger on Ben Kingsley's performance. It was way better than his previous role as a vampire king in Bloodrayne (for this I entirely blame the director) but a huge let-down when compared with Gandhi or Schindler's list (do I have to blame the directors for this too?). Bruce Willis has a very small part to play but he carries it with style. The film works on a technical level too with brilliant camera work, unconventional set design (did I mention about those apartment corridors?) and good editing. Some people would have easily felt that the dialogs weren't witty enough, not even close when comparing with the likes of Snatch or even MIB. But my favorite part of the movie was when it boldly compared itself with North by Northwest and still managed to come close to the classic. I felt there were a few unnecessary twists and more than a few conveniently placed characters just to aid the script. Other than these few major flaws no other grudges held.

Because pieces of the jigsaw keep falling onto your lap periodically, the how is probably easy to guess but the why is what evaded me. Eventually I know why. Because the whole movie can be termed as one huge "Kansas city shuffle". By throwing the audiences off track at the very beginning with what appears to be an entirely fictional story, the movie catches you completely off-guard and unaware at the very end. Hope we get to see more movies like this in the near future. For that multitude of lazy people who just skipped to this line without reading the review, here is what I have to say - if your IQ is above 100, you shouldn't miss this movie. - {BATMAN^V^EXILED}

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