Moral Code

Rating: 8/10 (23 March 2009)

I think playwrights tend to keep their theater chops even when trying to write something cinematic. Usually I dislike the effect -- a static camera and a single setting -- but for a film about two souls stuck in purgatory it works well.
All three central characters are immersed in a morality not totally alien to convention, but just slightly askew (which McDonagh matches nicely by creating a world that's slightly askew too). Ray, Ken, and Harry all acknowledge that the death of the child was wrong, but the question preoccupying the film is how to atone for the sin -- Ray and Harry are Old Testament, eye for an eye guys; Ken is a New Testament scion, he believes in penance and potential for renewal.
Harry and Chloe are the gods of the story. Chloe in that she sells drugs to the film stars and then to the real stars, her influence permeating both worlds, providing the bridge between the two. Harry is the disembodied voice commanding and directing until Ken defies him and he takes corporeal form in the third act. It's a n episodic film, mainly in respect to Harry's plot line, which reinforces the fact that these souls are on a journey.
The miniature (pun intended) film within the film is a great self-referential touch -- Tom DiCillo would be especially proud. In the end, the main players are appropriated by that film and the two worlds merge.
The dialogue is melismatic and spicy and perfectly delivered by three top-notch performers.