Dialogue not action.....

Rating: 9/10 (6 May 2007)

Well, I finally got around to seeing this movie. Of course, I had heard that it was a violent movie  in fact that was about all I had heard. Oh and, like most people, I'd seen the Vincent and Mia dance sequence. For me, however, my lasting impression is of the dialogue. From the opening scene (or at least the first scene in the movie), it was as if the actors had been told to talk to each other about whatever they wanted. The result is a natural flow of dialogue  sometimes comic, sometimes obscure, always believable. The subjects range from the metric system in Europe and its influence on fast food to the intimacy of foot massages. Even when there isn't anyone to talk to, there is speech  Vincent talks to himself in the mirror in the bathroom after he has taken Mia home while she overdoses in the living room. During their 'date' they even talk about how to have a conversation.
Although the dialogue is natural, there is nothing muted or subtle about the colours in this film. During the 'Vincent and Mia' scene, the colours are bold and clearly defined  the characters are dressed in black and white, Mia's home is decorated in black and white. The car is red and the colours in the restaurant they go to are vibrant.
There is action in this movie but it isn't an action movie. It's a clever movie of the sort that needs to be seen more than once to appreciate its various elements  and, of course, the sequence in which things happen.