Lucky Number Slevin

Rating: 7/10 (22 May 2006)

Lucky Number Slevin has a cast to die for. It has not just A-list actors, but good A-list actors who are all at the top of their game. It is therefore not unreasonable to expect great things from them. For the most part this is a very accomplished thriller, but it just lacks that extra something to go the extra mile.
It could actually be the cast themselves. Josh Hartnett is good in the title role of Slevin, a man from out of town who, after an episode of mistaken identities, finds himself under pressure to pay a lot of money to two rival kingpins. However, the other cast members  Bruce Willis, Stanley Tucci, even Morgan Freeman and Ben Kingsley  feel like they're operating on autopilot. They never seem to be stretching themselves to deliver something truly great.
Part of this also stems form the dialogue; you can tell that this wants to be a Quentin Tarantino/Guy Ritchie film with sharp dialogue and witty pop-culture references. It doesn't work as well as it should though (although I do find that even Tarantino can start to sound pretentious after a point), and a lot of the dialogue feels forced, although it's clearly meant to be smooth and sound natural.
It really isn't all bad though. These negative points are actually relatively small, all things considered, and don't ruin the enjoyment of the film; they are more niggles than outright irritants. The film is actually very stylish, and its retro-70s look does wonders as it gives the film a fresh feel, certainly making it stand out from the usual run-of-the-mill thrillers. Also Lucy Liu is brilliant as the only innocent character present, whose riffs with Slevin are fun and gives the film a certain lightness to it; a real bonus as it is otherwise a very cold film.
As with many films of this kind, we know everything will not be as it seems to be, and Lucky Number Slevin is no exception. Its inevitable plot twist feels a little contrived  it's not nearly as clever as it likes to think it is  and the payoff is not as worthy as we deserve by this point, but it is the journey that matters most and it is, for the most part, very enjoyable. However, one cannot help but feel that, with the presence of such a great cast that could have been made of this  it seems to be trying too hard to impress, rather than being a lot more natural and trust in the quality of the actors it's got.
Rated: 7/10
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