Enter the world of Sin City, where men are men, dames aren't all who they say and nobody plays by the rules. Everybody has a secret, and it's only a matter of time before it catches up to them.
I haven't read all of the seven-or-so graphic novels where the movie was based on, but I was thoroughly impressed by the ones I have. It reeks of sex, deception, crime, mental instability, and the agony of desire.
Because I had very definite ideas of the characters of the celebrated graphic novels, I was afraid that I was in for a disappointment. I wasn't.
The movie interweaves three of the novellas in the "Sin City" graphic novel series, where the characters from other novellas make an appearance. (The Babe Wore Red sequences were so brief, I didn't count it in).
To someone who has not read the novels, the connecting scenes of the movie may seem forced, stretched just to make the film appear as if it were one straight story. I also feel that the movie lumbers at parts because the directors wanted to be unerringly faithful to the comic. Reading "Sin City" then watching the movie "Sin City" for me was a jolting experience. The use eye-popping color in a sea of black and white was a visual treat. It was the novel, in the flesh. For the novel's fans, this should be a pleasant experience. I mouthed lines as they were being said. However, I felt that it wasn't wise to directly lift a lot of the dialogue from the comic. Some lines that worked for the novel seemed ludicrous when spoken out loud.
Robert Rodriguez cast the right people. Except for Brittany Murphy, who I felt didn't have the sass or the bravura of Shelly. Shelly was cheap, but undeniably sexy in an earthy way; she was ugly but she had a confidence about her that made her alluring. Murphy did get Shelly's cheap-ness, but I felt that her interpretation of Shelly was too jittery. While some actors didn't resemble their comic book counterparts, everyone had the mood and the menace down pat. I especially loved Elijah Wood as the sweet-faced cannibal Kevin. Look out for cameos by Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez.
Among all the characters, I connected the most to Gail. I loved her costume, and I loved her gleeful bloodlust. Hm, what does that say about me? I guess I still have a lot of aggression to work out.
Would I recommend the Sin City graphic novels? Yes.
Sin City the movie is a film for fans by fans. I guess you just have to be a fan to thoroughly enjoy it.
3 comments:
I like Miho, but I like Kevin as well. 2 sides of a coin, but not really. But both very deadly and lethal, and both of them never says a word.
That would raise a bunch of interesting questions: Is Sin City (the movie) a good enough showing for people who haven't read the graphic novels? Would it possibly get them interested in the graphic novels to begin with? What would they think of them, as compared to the movie?
Hmmmm.
I can't predict whether the movie can pique the interest of someone who hasn't read the graphic novels (it's dependent on the tastes of the person). However, as I said, for anyone who isn't familiar with the novels, the flow of the story seems discordant, patched together to make it seem like it's one story when it is three separate stories that happens in one city.
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