Grotesquely Gorgeous- A Splendid Cult Classic

Rating: 10/10 (3 May 2005)

"Sin City" is a loathsomely gorgeous creation, perhaps the most brutally depraved concept to audaciously deem itself an aesthetic piece of art- it's a harrowing portrait of the decadence of a grotesque criminal underworld, supplanting elements of gore and vengeance for congenial cinematic structure, yet dare I castigate the film for those reasons- rather, it's a disgustingly beautiful contrivance of most ingenious proportions. "Sin City" is a dazzlingly bleak portrait of a truly grimy universe: bang, bang, slash, slash, yeah baby, yeah, bang, bang, etc. Instead of reducing itself to a formulaic, machismo gore fest, "Sin City" transcends its depravity into aesthetic, artistic brilliance- adhering to an atmosphere of darkness with obscure shading, and punctuating elements of ugliness, aberration, and awfulness with assorted hues, and the effect is that the depravity and vileness that constitute "Sin City" are more gorgeous and delectable elements than ever, and one develops a guilty satiation for otherwise deplorable and odious content. In "Pulp Fiction" chronology, it tells three dismal, grotesque stories of vengeance involving many scathing, loathsome people (all of whom are destined to the road to perdition if they haven't already visited there) and as we find ourselves immersed in a decaying world of murder, lust, mayhem, and redemption, there is an undeniable intoxication about the style that makes the entire "grueling" experience nothing less than deadly gorgeous eye candy, and this is sheer cinematic greatness, if nothing else. Make no bones about it, the film is not content to be sensitive to its grisly subject matter, and never compromises vile obscenity and lascivious sexual puns in its dialog, nor mortifying, nauseating violence, nor bare flesh nudity (whether bewitching or bestial), because "Sin City", for better or for worse, is unabashed to its nature, and faithfully exacerbates its graphic content into naked, blemished art for the inquisitive, lustful eye. The grizzly narrative will give you a good idea of the characters' senses as well as the theme, if you haven't already registered that this is about as drably noir as they come. Performances are polished to perfection, and each actor reserves dimensions to otherwise one-dimensional characters (Mickey Rourke is pitch-perfect at conveying angst and machismo, yet mortifying grief and apprehension in his relentless pursuit of vengeance, while Benicio Del Toro (head attached) is sneeringly villainous and charming, and Bruce Willis carries the persona of a hit-man with a heart of gold), in three cleverly united stories of vengeance that all culminate in despair for each. A truly deplorable concept of a film, highlighted by discomposed heads, repulsive flesh, grisly murder and mayhem- all electrified as one uncannily gorgeous creation that solidifies itself as a true cult classic delivering all the luscious eye candy and noir that film buffs will be salivating over, and then some. Who would've imagined a world of ugliness and filth could be so wholesomely glittering with beauty and genius? Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez have realized just that with this marvelous "Sin City", certainly worth an engaging trip to the dark side of humanity- and beauty. **** out of ****