A great modern take on Film Noir

Rating: 10/10 (3 April 2005)

This is the kind of film that lets you know right from the beginning that you are in for the ride of your life. From beginning to end the story's that they tell are powerful, involving, and yes, extremely violent.
One thing that I found intriguing was the structure of the story. It was reminiscent of Pulp fiction in this manner. You get introduced to one character and you see his story unfold, then the next, then the next. But what is really great is how they brought other character's into the other persons story. During Micky Rourks bit you get a glimpse of Clive Owen and then after Mickey Rourk is finished they tell you why Clive was there. In the end everything comes together in a very interesting way.
As for cinematography, I have this to say. I'm a film student right now, the second I go pro I'm using HD and only HD because if that the kind of look you can get out of it there is no reason to spend the extra money on the 35 mm film camera's. For what they were trying to do with this film High Definition was the only way to go. They made ever element of Sin City, including the actors look smooth. And the composition of the shadows was absolutely amazing.
The acting in and of itself would usually not impress anyone if it was not for the overall feel of the film. Really what you got were performances reminiscent of the 1930s noir films like "Double Indemnity" or the "Maltese Falcon". Of coarse these are very different stories but they still bare some basic similarities that made performances like this motivated, and even more powerful than they would have been had the simply gone with what we consider now to be proper acting style.
I am usually a big opponent of the use of voice over but it was used perfectly in this movie. It was needed and it was completely motivated. Of coarse, voice over is a common element in the noir genre and that still holds true for neo-noir films such as this. It opens a window to there innermost thoughts and allows us to see a full human even if we only get to follow his story for a little while. It also worked simply because of the phenomenal writing. It was witty, it was intelligent, it was funny, and it was at the same time serious. Really top notch writing.
This is a film that you will never forget and I guarantee you I will see it a couple more times before it hits DVD. The bottom line is, to miss "Sin City" while it is in theater's is to simply let cinematic history pass you by.