A Triumph in The Town Without Pity

Rating: 10/10 (9 April 2005)

I absolutely LOVED this movie.
I've been a fan of Frank Miller for over twenty years, and have felt since its inception that the world of SIN CITY was the perfect place for the artist/author's talents to shine. Basin City presented the purest, most dynamic place (geographically and figuratively) for Miller to lay the groundwork for some of the most evocative stories to explode from the graphic-prose genre in years. A city of his own making, SIN CITY continued to evolve, becoming darker and richer and meaner with every issue. I loved them.
Meanwhile, Robert Rodriguez earned my total respect and devotion for the slam-bang gusto and bravura that he's displayed in the MARICHI trilogy. (Not to mention FROM DUSK TIL DAWN, which I consider a world of delirious fun!) What was great about watching his own creation was seeing his talents also evolve before our eyes. A small yet inventive student's movie leaped to full-scale major motion picture to Texas-sized blockbuster epic in the space of three movies.
And in SIN CITY the audience now has the perfect creative marriage of two virtuosos of the hit-and-run action drama. It's just a blast and a half! Having collected all the books almost from the beginning, I can say it's downright freakish how much the film matches the books, panel-for-panel in most instances. The choice of including three rotating stories makes perfect since, since they are each propelled along at such breakneck speed it's like clinging to a bullet for dear life. The actors were beautifully cast, and they do a wonderful job of inhabiting their characters. As much as possible with a film of this type, they bring them to life. And for at least one actor, the on-screen results are nothing short of astounding.
Mickey Rourke IS Marv. (I read in an article that he took copies of the books to his psychiatrist lamenting, "THIS is how they see me!") Probably the single most larger than life character to emerge from the most-wanted list of Miller's protagonists, Marv was always the one I thought it would be impossible to cast. Physically, no one looks like him -- at least no one I'D care to meet. He's a hulking, brutish thug of a human being. Temperamental, insanely violent, a juggernaut of discord and retribution...and yet the audiences CHEERED for him each time I saw the movie. I wouldn't be surprised if some of his lines of dialogue are quoted years from now.
Marv serves as the perfect representation of the driving instincts of the other characters (good and bad), the city itself, the graphic prose stories the movie is based on, and both Miller and Rodriguez. He has his own internal logic, and a moral barometer that doesn't fall into alignment with the rest of the world -- but it's there. He's loyal to a fault, unrepentantly so, and will suffer no end of damage to right an unforgivable wrong. Do his ends justify his means? Of course not, at least in the real world, but they explain them.
The movie takes chances with its gorgeous black-and-white. It's so rich and absorbing it makes color seem tame by comparison. It also takes chances with its almost gleefully manic violence and in-your-face sexuality. It never panders and seems to be asking other action-adventure-dramas the question: "Is that the best you pansies can do?" all the while spitting blood and bile and mussing up their faces.
The actors are a delight. When Rosario Dawson smiles, she IS Gail. The casting of Elijah Wood for his killer role was inspired. Powers Booth - a personal favorite from his days as Philip Marlowe on HBO - is grandly evil. Bruce Willis has a face and demeanor that exists perfectly in this cold, monochromatic world. (And I have to mention that I found the relationship between his Hartigan and the young Nancy at the beginning of the movie even more touching than it was in the books. This was something that could only be achieved by live actors, and good for them.)
I can't wait for more movies set in the town without pity. And I also can't wait to see following movies stitched into the continuity established in this first one. Kudos to all involved; I can't praise the filmmakers - everyone in front of and behind the cameras, from grip to animator to publicist and beyond - enough for crafting such a sharp piece of work.
Thanks for NOT holding back. Here's to SIN CITY -- one helluva ride!