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THE PLOT:
MAJOR 5: MINOR 3:
KEVIN'S REVIEW (opening
night): I loved this movie. I haven't laughed this much in a movie in ages (Derringer, Dexter clinic guard, pisses on body, lose a finger...). I'm too excited right now to think about it. I love Raymond Chandler novels. Marlowe, the atmosphere, the tough talk in your face, the sleazy underbelly that is not sweet nor sour, like a tangelo. It's all about faith, hope and clarity. Faith Harmony is the aspiring actress who made it to a beer commercial. Hope is Harry Lockhart who is really a thief locked in his heart, but hopes beyond that. Clarity comes with a detective who shows him how real detectives operate. He puts the pink into Pinkerton. The plot is typically Chandler confused and references various elements in his novels and stories from the 20's-30's pulp magazine BLACK MASK. The little sister, lady in the lake etc. It's cute. The strength in the movie however, is the full force urgency by Harry (Downey is superb) to understand what the hell is happening to him. The body in his shower, the scene with the ski mask guys at the lake, the freeway scene, MacArthur Park. The femme fatale is gorgeous. There's some outrageously funny scenes. I really have to step back and stop gushing. This was excellent. On Sunday, I ordered the Mike Shayne novel it's based on, from Amazon. It still isn't here. They must be shipping it by Rio de Janeiro. THE PLOT: is all over the place but meant to be. That's how those Chandler films were. It's interesting how it moves yet you never quite understand it. Pay more attention to Harlan Dexter at the party and his daughter just back from Paris. THE ACTORS: Downey, Kilmer and Michelle are perfect. Exactly who and what they should be. It's 2005 so we get Michelle naked. She's just as pretty with her clothes on. Downey plays the schleb well, just has that "did you just dsay that to me?" kind of mulling it thru life happy-go-lucky attitude. Kilmer is a panic. His gayness is ambiguous. We don't know for sure. He claims to be knee-deep in pussy but likes the name. That slam dunk humor is brutally funny and Shane Black excels at it. I would have like to have seen more of Dexter and Veronica in ambigious scenes, but maybe that gives too much away. SHANE BLACK'S DIRECTION: During THE LONG KISS GOODNIGHT Shane stated he wanted to be a director. In Hollywood, that's barely news. In KISS KISS BANG BANG he directs first time. And it's real good, too. nothing shoddy here. The wolf howling motel, the swaying bushes behind Harmony on her doorstep, the sudden bursts of action like at MacArthur Park, the outrageous stunts like the car ploughing into the lake, the Christmas decor everywhere. Directing includes the casting (perfect major 3 actors), their performances (perfect), and how he moves them around. And the point is make us care, feel their emotions. I felt for Harry, I wanted Michelle, and laughed along with Val. The cinematography was spectacular throughout. I particularly liked the use of the yellow light in the diner, the red light in the hotel hallway etc. I enjoyed the jazz score, and liked that I coudn't figure it out. He doesn't particularly move the camera (pans, dollies, over the shoulder). Some of that may be limited by the restriction of the first-person unreliable narrator. Cinematography is key in a film noir, because they were in black and white, and carried a lot of the German Expressionist school attitude over--lights and shadows. In 2005 screaming color where are the lights and shadows? The editing was fairly nimble. I was wondering for about two minutes around the Flicka airline hostess scene where it was all going.
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Michael Shayne born in Tampico, FL