Year of Release: 2006
Director: Paul McGuigan
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Morgan Freeman, Ben Kingsley, Bruce Willis, Lucy Liu, Stanley Tucci, Michael Rubenfeld, Peter Outerbridge, Kevin Chamberlin, Dorian Missick, Mykelti Williamson, Scott Gibson, Sam Jaeger, Danny Aiello, Corey Stoll, Oliver Davis
Genre: Crime, Thriller
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 5
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Synopsis and Review
After breaking through with "The Acid House" and cementing his reputation with "Gangster Nº. 1", director Paul McGuigan started collaborating with actor Josh Hartnett, firstly with a remake of the French film "L'Apartement" which became "Wicker Park", immediately followed by "Lucky Number Slevin", all films that didn't entire work, either critically nor commercially, which followed by the underwhelming results of "Pusher", eventually landed this director on what has since been a string of directing gigs all for TV shows. The film follows the story of Slevin Kelevra, who is staying at his friend Nick Fisher's apartment in New York City. The apartment has a heavy foot traffic, starting with a neighbor by the name of Lindsey who wants to borrow some sugar, and who upon chatting with Slevin indicates Nick might be missing. Shortly after Lindsey leaves, Slevin is mistaken for Nick, and is taken by two henchmen who work for "The Boss". "The Boss" believing Slevin to be Nick, wants him to kill the son of his rival, The Rabi", in retaliation for the killing of his own son, whom he suspects was killed by "The Rabi". In the meantime more characters come into play, one a ruthless killer by the name of Goodkat, who is working for both crime lords, and who has tipped them on Nick's gambling debts, the other a Detective by the name of Brikowski, who is investigating the crime bosses. Brikowski believes there's a connection between The Boss, The Rabi, Goodkat and Slevin, but can't uncover what it is. Slevin and Goodkat kill The Rabi's son, and then kidnap him alongside The Boss. As it turns out, there's something in their past that does tie them together with Slevin and Goodkat, and Slevin in particular is intent on getting the closure he needs.
Jason Smilovic's who wrote the script for this film, has since written for some TV shows, alongside for the film "War Dogs" from director Todd Phillips. "Lucky Number Slevin" has some parallels with the work from writer Elmore Leonard, screenwriter Christopher McQuarrie, and even Quentin Tarantino, at least certain aspects of the criminal underworld, and the labyrinths it constructs around the central characters. However and unlike the work of those creators, and in the case of "Lucky Number Slevin" in particular, the script has a fundamental problem, which if it had been addressed would have made it and the film itself far more memorable: the characters are all underwritten. This is a film that, much like Alfred Hitchcock's "North by Northwest" for instance, creates a sequence of events on the premise that its lead hero has been mistaken for someone else. The film tiptoes around the initial question if Slevin is Nick, the person that is being sought after, or is he in fact someone else and is merely the wrong person in the wrong place. And while the film starts strongly with this ambiguity, and some nice exchanges of Slevin with Lindsey, it quickly becomes noticeable that the characters don't have any particularly enticing details about themselves that are revealed. Most of the exchanges around the characters are fast paced, reminiscent of Elmore Leonard's prose, but one never truly understands much about the crime lords, Goodkat, Lindsey, or even Slevin for that matter. The blankness that exists around these characters could have easily been addressed, but the script chooses to focus on the "gotcha" moment, of connecting the introductory chapter with everything that happens subsequently, and eventually tying it all together with the final chapter of the narrative. There are indeed some good moments in the film, namely the exchanges of Josh Hartnett with Morgan Freeman and Ben Kingsley, and even the chemistry he has with Lucy Liu, but all those characters sadly feel stunted and undernourished. By the time the big reveal comes along, the film has flattened out, never achieving the pulp-like quality of Quentin Tarantino's films, nor the elegance of the crime twist of Elmore Leonard. The cast is great, as is the technical team, particularly Peter Sova's cinematography. It's ultimately a film that promises more than it delivers, but it's still watchable.
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