The Kansas City Shuffle

Rating: 7/10 (12 February 2007)

--Spoiler-Heavy: Please read only once you've seen the movie--
Lucky Number Slevin is ostensibly merely a cleverly crafted story with somewhat forced "cool" Gut Ritchie-esquire dialogue. Beneath the surface, the movie is ultimately about a greater thing than just an eclectic cast composed of well-known actors offering great performances and what Bruce Willis' stranger in a wheelchair labels "The Kansas City Shuffle". The movie, when it is all said and done, is about fathers and sons and how prepared that soil is for miscommunication and the resulting misunderstandings.
The Boss and Schlomo the Rabbi play major parts in the demise of a little boy's family. They murder his parents separately and assign Mr. Goodkat the wholesome duty of taking the innocent boy's life. Having had no prior rapport with the kid, Mr. Goodkat demonstrates a gentler side and takes him under his wing. The movie's plot revolves around the result of years of planning the boy's revenge.
The Boss's son is murdered and, considering their long-standing rivalry since their collaboration in the murder of the boy's family, he immediately blames The Rabbi's people. In exchange, the Boss wants to murder Yitzchok The Fairy, The Rabbi's son who is homosexual unbeknownst to his father. These men are dearly attached to their sons despite their caustic, reclusive existences. Once Mr. Goodkat and Slevin succeed in bringing The Rabbi and The Boss together, the latter brags to The Rabbi about his success in killing his son, The Fairy. The Rabbi, realizing the certitude with which The Boss confesses, becomes choked up in what is the only truly emotional scene in the movie. It is at this point a film rather than a movie. Ben Kingsley clinches here as the best performer in the film as his heartbreak is as genuine and warranted as it was for him in House of Sand and Fog.
In the end, Slevin achieves his self-righteous retribution and fails to learn his lesson from the situation. He fails to trust his only father figure with the truth and incorrectly assumes Mr. Goodkat is incapable of a sympathy he had previously shown in saving the kid's, Slevin's, life.
It is, at its core, movie about disconnected men and the vengefulness with which men respond to affronts on their families. Despite the fact that Slevin will never have his biological father back, the film comes full circle with the scum having been wiped out and Slevin capable of moving on with his life. The son lives on and finds a mate to protect and who can care for him the way his parents seemingly cared for one another. (Note that the only two female characters play integral roles only before revenge is "called for" and once it is accomplished. That's a review for someone else to write.) Enjoy it either way you want. It is both a neat, cool, and clever movie that at times tries too hard to emulate its colorful cinematic predecessors (Snatch, The Usual Suspects, etc...) and a highly entertaining commentary film dealing loosely with the bonds between men. Or maybe I've been duped by the Kansas City Shuffle.
7/10