This is a smart (maybe too smart), well-written movie that is meant to deceive you. It just is, plain and simple. It involves an epic case of mistaken identity, think of North by Northwest on steroids or some sort of performance-enhancing drugs. The movie is very much one for movie afficionados, paying tribute to other movies like Hitchcock's classic and many others. I felt like it did enough to stand on its own, and be enjoyed without all the references, but I couldn't help wondering if maybe things went too far. In hopes of deceiving the viewer, the end result is both easy to predict and convoluted to follow along the way. Make any sense? Yeah, I didn't think so.
His whole life basically crashing down around him, Slevin (Josh Hartnett) visits a friend's apartment in New York City. He is almost immediately kidnapped by thugs from the Boss (Morgan Freeman) who believes that he's Nick, his friend, who owes him some $96,000. Slevin tries to explain but finds out the only way out of this predicament is to pull off a hit for the Boss. The target? Kill the son of a rival gangster, the Rabbi (Ben Kingsley). That's not enough though because the Rabbi also wants to see him, also believing he's the friend, Nick. Apparently Nick owed some $33,000, and the Rabbi wants it back. An extreme case of mistaken identity, and Slevin is left in the middle. What to do? Run to the police for help or go along with the plan and hope to somehow make it out alive?
Throwing the shoot 'em up angle out the window from the trailer, this is much more a modern film noir than it is an action flick. All the noir conventions are there in a story that introduces characters as quickly as it can. Director Paul McGuigan has made a stylish, well-done, and always intriguing movie. The problem is that I think McGuigan and this movie know it too. Is it a bad thing if a movie knows that it's freakishly stylish and very smart? Can dialogue be too quick-paced, too rapid fire, too comically smart? 'Slevin' has some great dialogue, but I felt like groaning at times because it's too smart. The filming techniques used include flashbacks, flash-sideways, and in general the most non-linear story line you're going to find. Usually a good thing, but there's a such thing as too much of a good thing.
The cast though is impeccable. It'd be hard not to be with this many big names. Hartnett's performance as Slevin has taken some heat, but it's a supremely cool part for the actor. He's suave and cool even as all these ridiculously crazy situations are thrown at him. Freeman and Kingsley are and always will be cool, and seeing them as rival gangsters is a treat. A one-on-one between them late in the movie is classic. There's more. Bruce Willis is a scene-stealer as Smith, a mysterious hired gun seemingly working for both sides. Lucy Liu is the good girl, the neighbor who takes a liking to Slevin and tries to keep up with him as everything is thrown at him. Then for good measure, Stanley Tucci plays Brikowski, the detective desperately trying to piece everything together before it is all too late. These are all fun parts for very talented actors who look to be having a lot of fun making the movie.
I am all for a movie that is trying to deceive you, trying to throw you a curve when you're expecting a fastball. Lucky Number Slevin's sole purpose seems to be doing that exact thing. The only problem is that it tells you it is trying to confuse you in a great opening sequence that runs almost 15 minutes before any characters are introduced. It explains the Kansas City Shuffle, a con that makes you think you're going right when you're really going left. That's the whole movie right there. Can you predict the twist? I would think not in any sort of specific detail. But big picture? I thought it was ridiculously easy to see where things were going. 'Slevin' tries too hard to confuse you, and ends up giving away too much in the effort. Not a deal breaker, but the attempt doesn't work as well as it should.
That said, the ending is well-executed as all the little details, all the little pieces of the puzzle start to click together for good. That is the key to the whole house of cards standing up. Do you go along for the ride? It would be easy to take the movie apart plot hole by plot hole, but what's the fun in that? I enjoyed the movie through all its flaws and all the ridiculousness. The cast is too good to pass up so I'm going to give this movie a mild recommendation, almost in spite of itself.
Lucky Number Slevin <---trailer (2006): ** 1/2 /****
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