Beautifully gory, dystopic yet hopeful

Rating: 8/10 (16 April 2005)

Neither watching the classics of film noir (i.e. The Third Man, Touch of Evil), nor the Tarantino-influencing Shochiku New Wave classics of Seijun Suzuki (i.e. Branded to Kill and Tokyo Drifter), nor even the hardcore pulp of Takashi Miike (i.e. 'Audition' or the disorganized, gory insanity of 'Visitor Q' or 'Dead or Alive') can really prepare you for 'Sin City'. As a fairly desensitized horror/gore/cult movie fan, I still could not immediately take in all of the darkness and stark, stylized violence I was about to see, to say nothing of the seedy subject matter. It's a film of contradictions that vaunts machismo yet displays a beneath-the-surface vulnerability; it is misogynistic yet empowering, dystopic yet hopeful, and crude, raw, and debasing yet beautiful and humanistic.
The surreal violence and gore is the type that one can't easily take one's eyes off of. It's a reflection of the darkest realities of our world (corruption, murder (seems to be 50% of all news), child murder, capital punishment, prostitution, depraved clergy, etc.) brought before a larger-than-life monochrome on-screen microscope.
The performances are appropriate throughout, providing a unique star-studded glorified B-movie feel. Even the occasionally ineffectual (though very hot) Jessica Alba and (sorta hot) Britanny Murphy play their roles well. Mickey Rourke, Clive Owen, Bruce Willis deliver particular commendation for the hard-nosed, hard-boiled portrayal of their respective characters. Elijah Wood, Benicio Del Toro, Nick Stahl, Rutger Hauer, and Josh Hartnett are also mesmerizing wicked in their roles.
The three comic panel-like vignettes allow the viewer to appreciate the many facets of Sin City without becoming too absorbed in any one of the emotionally/morally damaged on-screen persona's. However, this approach amplifies the sense of pervasive evil in the sadistic, might-makes-right, kill-or-be-killed city.
Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller deliver a technically accomplished cinematographic knockout with minimalistic black-and-white providing a contrast to and accentuating the garish red, white, and yellow (much of it blood). For his trouble, Rodriguez was ousted from the Director's Guild of America for including first-time director Frank Miller in the credits. I hope the accolades he receives for 'Sin City' will serve as a sufficient 'f*ck you' to the DGA, because this is a brilliant collaboration that is unlike anything previously achieved on film.