Superficial but slick, engaging and fun regardless

Rating: Null/10 (11 December 2006)

Slevin arrive in town and stops at his friend Nick's. Meeting his perky neighbour Lindsey, Slevin relates how he had his wallet stolen within minutes of arriving in town, an act which also involved getting his nose broken. While waiting for Nick, Slevin is picked up by two goons looking for Nick who have decided that he is indeed the man he claims not to be. He is taken to The Boss who decides he is Nick and thus owes him $96k  a debt he will cancel if "Nick" kills the son of rival mobster The Rabbi. Later Slevin is also picked up by The Rabbi's men and taken to see him and so Slevin finds himself drawn into a game between the two bosses with a shadowy killer in the background.
With the terrible (in my opinion) title, I didn't have great hopes for this but heard reasonably good things about it so one tired evening I decided to veg in front of it. From the deceptively slow opening, the film picks up with a good pace and energy that continues for the majority of the film. Ironically the film slows a little in the second half but by this point the energy has done its work and the plot developments have replaced them as the main hook. This is not to suggest that the plot is deep but it certainly is not, instead it is slick and fun. It helps if you can take your style with a hefty dose of violence but most modern viewers will get off on this updating of noir staples (dialogue, girls, twists, crime bosses) and delivers in a fresh-feeling package. The final sections (the reveal) are clunkier than the fresh majority would suggest.
The direction suits the material and is done in a manner that brings out well, with McGuigan uses his camera and editors well, not to mention the cool set design and visual construct of the whole affair. Smilovic deserves credit as writer as his dialogue is fun and sparky while also building a nice solid mystery. Hartnett is great for the most part but when required to have depth in the later stages I found him a bit lacking. His time spent in a towel perhaps explains why my girlfriend enjoyed the film more than I did. Willis is a stiff presence but then that is the point and he does that well. Liu is wonderfully bubbly and I found her sexy and cool in contrast to her usual cold and unattractive performances  the film asks her to do little but she is fun. Freeman and Kingsley (sorry, "Sir" Kingsley) are both class and quality support. The support cast features some nice touches from Tucci, Williamson and Missick.
Overall then a very enjoyable caper film based on a good story that is good in the telling rather than the detail, with sparky dialogue and slick delivery. It is very superficial and will put off some for this reason but if you get caught up in the pace and energy earlier on it is actually a fresh and enjoyable, albeit in a modern and violent manner.