Sin City
Also reviewed by:
Uncle Cliff
Oh fuck this was a good film. Only weeks after Batman Begins had convinced me that nothing good would ever come of the comic book adaptation free-for-all that's going on in Hollywood these days, this film comes around. It's nasty, it's ugly, it's graphic, it's violent, it's corny, it's funny, it's weird, and above all, it takes serious risks. All those other directors – some of them favourites of mine – were given the opportunity to adapt their favourite comics, and they served up these bland, dumb action films that have dominated the box office for the past few years. It took a director like Robert Rodriguez (Desperado, From Dusk Til Dawn) to show them all how it's done.
He really could have fucked it up. Spy Kids was an interesting departure for him, but by Spy Kids 3D, it was becoming a serious career change. Then we all thought he would return to form with the film he's been talking about for years, Once Upon A Time In Mexico, the final in the trilogy that began with El Mariachi, and it was a bloody mess. I still don't know what that film was about. I thought he'd seriously lost it. If the man can't return to the one thing he's good at it, where does he go?
Then I heard Rodriguez was jumping on the comic book bandwagon. I heard he wanted to give Frank Miller a directing credit since he had based his storyboards so closely on Miller's comics. Well, that just sounded like promotional hype to me, to get the die-hard fans in the cinemas. Then I heard that the entire thing was being filmed with green screen, and I felt a shiver I reserved for Star Wars prequels only. Yep, I was convinced he'd lost it.
When I entered the cinema, not only did Sin City have to contend with my own preconcieved negativity, but also a rowdy, undergraduate audience, who raucously laughed at anything unusual in the film, of which there was much. And to top it off, not only was the tallest guy in the cinema sitting in front of me, but he had the highest hair, David Schwimmer style. When I'm at the movies, I like to just immerse myself in the screen, especially with a film as visually rich as this, but it's hard when you've got some fuckwit's head blocking it. Oh, and you better believe he sat upright the whole time.
At first, the visual style of the film jarred with me. Everything looked like it had no depth other than these over-the-top CG backgrounds, and nothing ever happened less than a few metres away from the camera. And the music, which I think is always important when you're trying to create something so stylish and other-worldly, sounded like they'd forgotten to replace the shitty temp track with the actual score. The music remains my one main criticism of the film: it felt like such an after-thought. I listened to it during the credits, and it didn't sound so bad by itself, but with the visuals, it didn't work at all.
I was wary of the fact that Sin City was actually a number of short stories thrown together. There is the odd recurring character, but no overall plot relating the stories. I remember watching The Animatrix in the cinema, and thinking, "I'd much rather watch these in half hour blocks than having to sit here watching one after the other". But what I didn't realise was that Sin City was short stories like Pulp Fiction was short stories. It's as though the setting is the story. That's the only way I can describe it. And they're really fucking good stories too. As I got wrapped up in them, the style began to wash over me, and I got into it more and more. Now I just want to watch it all over again.
Not only is Sin City a real cinematic achievement, it's – dare I say it – art. I don't think I've been this awed by a movie since Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (and it's what The Hulk should have been). It's why I still go to the cinema. Despite the fuckwits, despite the David Schwimmer hairdos, despite the $14 for adults, you can still have those rare magical moments, and it makes it all worthwhile. Until I save up enough money to junk my TEAC and buy a shit-hot flatscreen TV.