Lucky Number Slevin

Rating: 8/10 (24 July 2006)

After his recent flops, Wicker Park and The Reckoning, Brit director Paul Mcguigan returns to Gangster No.1 territory with this clever gangster flick, and boy is it clever...
Starting off as a story of mistaken identity, the film takes a perhaps obvious twist three quarters of the way through and becomes something entirely different, but you'll have to watch it to find out what, no spoilers here! Josh Hartnett plays Slevin, an innocent man in the wrong place at the wrong time who gets caught up in a bitter gang feud between The Boss (Freeman) and Schlomo (Kingsley). He is told that he owes each gang leader a large sum of money and must do each side a favor to cancel the debt.
The film plays out like a pulp fiction novel with a British flair and comparisons with Guy Ritchie's Revolver can be easily made, though this film is far superior in every department. While Revolver had some clever dialogue, a lot of what was spoken seemed forced and trying too hard to be clever. Lucky Number Slevin never comes across like that, the dialogue is sharp and witty and has some of the best lines found at the cinema this year.
The acting is also top notch, while the jury is still out on Hartnett, he puts in a solid performance here that matches his excellent but brief role in Sin City. Freeman plays against type and plays the villain, but imbues him with his natural charm to create the impression of a mob boss that becomes far more dangerous the more you warm to him. Kingsley is also good and Bruce Willis has a fantastic screen presence as a mostly silent assassin.
This is the film Revolver tried and failed to be. A sharply written, superbly directed American gangster flick with a British influence, Lucky Number Slevin is a film that shows that talented director Paul McGuigan is back to his very best, highly recommended.
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