To All the Haters

Rating: 10/10 (17 April 2005)

SPOILERS AHEAD I can't say I'm surprised to see both the amount of people in love with this film and the amount of people who think it deplorable. But I'd like to address some of the comments I've seen.
First, I loved this film. I think it's the first film in a long time that has done something truly unique that works. I'm glad that it was so uncompromisingly faithful to the comic. Now, obviously, I'm not going to take the position that everyone has to like this film. But I think that some things have been unfairly stated about this film, and I'd like to address them.
The image of women in this movie has come up repeatedly. It's accused of being maliciously sexist, and unfairly so. I agree that no respectable women are in this film, and I agree that they are stereotypical, comic-book knockouts. But that doesn't make this movie sexist, and the reason that's so, is because it treats men EXACTLY the same way. There are no male role models in this film, either. Though some characters may have good intentions, they're all despicably ruthless. Marv may be out on a righteous revenge quest, but does that merit cutting off a man's arms and legs and leaving him for a bloodthirsty dog? You want to tell me that tearing the genitalia off the same man TWICE is something people should emulate? No character can justify their actions in any rational manner. Similarly, all the male characters are muscle-bound supermen. They are not striving for realism or accurate depictions of how people look or act. EVERYONE here is a fantasy, not just the women.
In fact, the most sympathetic characters in the entire movie are Lucille and Nancy. That they're open with their sexuality doesn't take away from the fact that they're both good, strong people, nor does the fact that they're both victims. Lucille does the right thing. It gets her killed, but it's still one of the most moral decisions anyone in the film makes. On top of that, the character with the highest body count is likely Miho, and she's presented as, by far, the most skilled combatant among the cast. So, it makes me wonder how one can claim that this movie is unfair to women. And if you expect women to be cast as moral, righteous people ONLY because they're women, then I'd say that a rather sexist expectation to go into a movie with.
I'm confused when I hear people say that it glorifies violence against women. The men guilty of crimes against women in this film meet with such gruesome and torturous fates that I'm very hesitant to call them glorified.
So of course, there's the overwhelming violence. I agree, this is probably the most explicitly violent movie out there. These "heroes" don't get revenge by killing their opponents, they get revenge by torturing them to death. Everyone is shamelessly ruthless, and the authors had to in turn make their villains so disgustingly horrific that we can tolerate the amount of punishment inflicted upon them when their pursuers finally catch up with them. Kevin couldn't just have killed Goldie. He made Lucille watch as he ate her hand, and displays the heads of the other girls he killed and ate as hunting trophies on his wall. Only now can we, the audience, allow Marv to quarter him and leave him to be eaten alive.
And that's what this movie's about. There IS meaning and poignancy underneath all the blood and gore. I won't blame anyone for being overwhelmed. The only reason this movie is bearable is because of the unique comic-booky perspective we see it from. The high-contrast black and white, with splashes of colour in a pair of bright red sneakers, piercing blue eyes, golden stream of urine, or that yellow bastard, makes it surreal. The most intense scenes are depicted in inverse silhouettes.
Which brings me to the argument of style and substance, which comes up whenever a highly stylistic movie comes out. That it involves a style no one's ever seen before leaves it open for the easy-to-make accusation that that's all there is to it. But the style and content of Sin City work together. Both are nothing without the other. If this was shot like every other movie, the story would be overwhelming for even the strongest stomachs. And if the story told was the same as every detective revenge story, the style would be pointless. But here, they act together to make one of the few truly unique movies in years.
If you don't like it, fine. But this IS a good movie.