A visual feast

Rating: Null/10 (29 August 2005)

...whose content may cause indigestion.
This is a must-see for cinematography fans, unique (as far as I know) because it successfully attempts to replicate the look and emotional feel of a graphic novel/comic. Rendered in high-contrast black and white with splashes of vivid color (here bright red lips, there a vivid blue eye, and for the last third, here a sickeningly yellow villain), every shot is highly designed and stylized. I couldn't take my eyes off of this film.
Though I wanted to! Sin City is not for the faint of heart, as it is one of the most graphically violent films you'll ever see, tempered only by the dark humor inherent in something so extreme. It doesn't surprise me that Quentin Tarantino was involved in this, because it has that over-the-top, ultra-gory, did-they-actually-just-show-that element (severed heads, anyone?)
That goes for the acting, too: Just about everyone does a fine job --Mickey Rourke in particular. Their voice-overs and on-screen performances expertly render that Film Noir tone, with just the right balance of earnestness and irony. Also, Elijah Wood and Alexis Bledel succeed in their attempts to change their "nice" image.
As a woman, I have to mention that this film (and presumably the graphic novels on which it's based) adhere strictly to gender stereotypes. All the men are tough and testosterone-charged, and all the women are whores, or whores with hearts of gold. There is one noble "dyke" who nevertheless parades around gratuitously naked. But I could forgive this, because the characters are really just archetypes in service of the multi-part plot.
If you get the DVD, it's worth checking out the "making of" feature -- interesting to see how they actually shot it.