TORONTO -- There are gun fights in Guy Ritchie's Revolver, but the title may refer to how the movie spins wildly in circles, continually doubling back on itself, repeating scenes -- once even backwards -- and lines of dialogue until a viewer loses a grip on what is supposed to be real. The greater problem for that viewer is caring where reality lies. In his third gangster movie in four features, Ritchie presents his usual clutch of unsavory killers, cons and super-cool street cats, who strut through scenes dripping with menace. But the film's pretentious style and fractured storytelling preclude any audience involvement in the coy melodrama.
Ritchie certainly isn't looking to entertain fans of his first two gangster movies for hipsters, "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" and Snatch. But his move uptown to the art house derails in an unnecessarily convoluted dramaturgy that will surely alienate his core follows while doing little to establish the sought-after intellectual credentials. Boxoffice will be modest at best.
Gambler and gangster Jake Green (Ritchie regular Jason Statham) gets out of prison after seven years in solitary that has left him sullen and vengeful. A year later, he has accumulated enough wealth to seek revenge against his mortal enemy, vicious gambling boss Macha (Ray Liotta in a virtual cartoon of his early roles depicting human savagery).
Jake visits Macha at his high-rise casino and humiliates his rival at the gaming table with a couple of coin flips. (Why would a gambling lord play at his own tables? Never mind, as the characters in this movie are never going to make sense.)
Jake suffers a blackout and a medical check up reveals a rare blood disease that will kill him in three days. Meanwhile, his life is saved by an enigmatic pair of loan sharks, gruff Zach (Vincent Pastore) and his chess-playing partner, Avi (Andre Benjamin). The two offer Jake protection -- this to a man who is going to die any moment -- with the understanding they will take all his money. Jake unaccountably accepts.
The movie then takes a deep dive into schizophrenia. Two kinds actually. For one, Jake talks to himself to the point a viewer realizes his "inner voice" comes from a different person than his outer identity. Eventually, Ritchie cuts back and forth between the two Jakes. Neither seems reliable.
The other schizophrenia lies in the movie itself. Ritche runs story and character through a hall of mirrors where everyone's identity and motives are in question. But for all the stylistic flourishes and shifts in mood, a deadly dullness settles over the action. If every action has multiple meanings and, possibly, no meaning at all, a weary audience simply checks out of the movie.
The movie takes place in a deliberately fake environment, where interiors and some exteriors look like Las Vegas, backstreets and other locales are reminiscent of London and an American and British cast present a mix of accents.
Sets and costumes are as gaudy as they are gloomy while cinematographer Tim Maurice Jones shoots in cool, sometime under lit tones. The result is an antiseptic, impersonal atmosphere where no one feels like he belongs.
REVOLVER
EuropaCorp
Credits:
Writer/director: Guy Ritchie
Producer: Luc Besson, Pierre Spengler, Virginie Silla-Besson
Executive producer: Steve Christian
Director of photography: Tim Maurice Jones
Production designer: Eve Stewart
Costumes: Verity Hawkes
Editors: James Herbert, Ian Differ, Romesh Aluwihare
Cast:
Jake Green: Jason Statham
Macha: Ray Liotta
Zack: Vincent Pastore, Avi: Andre Benjamin
French Paul: Terrence Maynard
Running time -- 115 minutes
No MPAA rating...
Ritchie certainly isn't looking to entertain fans of his first two gangster movies for hipsters, "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" and Snatch. But his move uptown to the art house derails in an unnecessarily convoluted dramaturgy that will surely alienate his core follows while doing little to establish the sought-after intellectual credentials. Boxoffice will be modest at best.
Gambler and gangster Jake Green (Ritchie regular Jason Statham) gets out of prison after seven years in solitary that has left him sullen and vengeful. A year later, he has accumulated enough wealth to seek revenge against his mortal enemy, vicious gambling boss Macha (Ray Liotta in a virtual cartoon of his early roles depicting human savagery).
Jake visits Macha at his high-rise casino and humiliates his rival at the gaming table with a couple of coin flips. (Why would a gambling lord play at his own tables? Never mind, as the characters in this movie are never going to make sense.)
Jake suffers a blackout and a medical check up reveals a rare blood disease that will kill him in three days. Meanwhile, his life is saved by an enigmatic pair of loan sharks, gruff Zach (Vincent Pastore) and his chess-playing partner, Avi (Andre Benjamin). The two offer Jake protection -- this to a man who is going to die any moment -- with the understanding they will take all his money. Jake unaccountably accepts.
The movie then takes a deep dive into schizophrenia. Two kinds actually. For one, Jake talks to himself to the point a viewer realizes his "inner voice" comes from a different person than his outer identity. Eventually, Ritchie cuts back and forth between the two Jakes. Neither seems reliable.
The other schizophrenia lies in the movie itself. Ritche runs story and character through a hall of mirrors where everyone's identity and motives are in question. But for all the stylistic flourishes and shifts in mood, a deadly dullness settles over the action. If every action has multiple meanings and, possibly, no meaning at all, a weary audience simply checks out of the movie.
The movie takes place in a deliberately fake environment, where interiors and some exteriors look like Las Vegas, backstreets and other locales are reminiscent of London and an American and British cast present a mix of accents.
Sets and costumes are as gaudy as they are gloomy while cinematographer Tim Maurice Jones shoots in cool, sometime under lit tones. The result is an antiseptic, impersonal atmosphere where no one feels like he belongs.
REVOLVER
EuropaCorp
Credits:
Writer/director: Guy Ritchie
Producer: Luc Besson, Pierre Spengler, Virginie Silla-Besson
Executive producer: Steve Christian
Director of photography: Tim Maurice Jones
Production designer: Eve Stewart
Costumes: Verity Hawkes
Editors: James Herbert, Ian Differ, Romesh Aluwihare
Cast:
Jake Green: Jason Statham
Macha: Ray Liotta
Zack: Vincent Pastore, Avi: Andre Benjamin
French Paul: Terrence Maynard
Running time -- 115 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 9/12/2005
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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