My Impression of the movie "SIN CITY"

I recently saw "Sin City" in its entirety for the first time. It only took me about 10 years to finally catch it. I had always been seduced by its peculiar imagery but for some reason, I had never taken the time to see it... I'm very glad I finally did!

There will be no spoilers here because I'm not going to dwell on the plot. Trying to distill Sin City to a few plot points would be like telling someone what Kubrick's "2001" was about. Don't get me wrong, I'm not placing Sin City in that category, I'm just saying that for me it was more about the amazing visual experience than about the actual plot.

I don't have the graphic novel it is based on as a reference either since I haven't seen it, but I suspect this movie is as close to its originating source as they come - more so than even "300," or "Watchmen," to name a couple in the same vein.

Dramatic, almost operatic points of view are a staple of graphic novel style.

Suffice it to say that the movie has a few seemingly independent stories told out of sequence (a la Tarantino, whose influence is not only palpable but actually credited) that end up interweaving with each other as they unravel.

The common denominator is this seedy, hell-like, perpetually dark setting in which it all takes place - a world where corruption, murder, and horror are the commodities traded by the powerful, as society's outcasts are all but helpless insects beneath evil's iron boots.

The dark, seedy underbelly of Sin City, where there is no light, no hope, just blight!

That is, until those outcasts decide to rebel. Then all hell breaks loose.

Much of the dialogue (as well as the visual style) or, rather, monologue, is a homage to the old noire and pulp novels/movies that obviously served as its inspiration. In that sense, the effect is at times moody and others downright comical - I would rather believe that the Directors: Rodríguez, Miller (original auteur), and Tarantino did as they continue to do and pay homage by going deliberately overboard in their imitations. Don't try to take things too seriously here or you will be disappointed. 

What blew me away, however, was the overall visual style - almost completely computerized - which not only pays an amazing tribute to graphic novels (used to be called comics) but delivers an awesome emotional and visceral impact on the mind. And THAT, my friends, to ME, is the whole purpose of movies.

Mickey Rourke's character pulls you in with dashes or color, horror, violence, and vulnerability.

The use of heavy, HEAVY, contrast - exalting noire to its limits - with carefully orchestrated dashes of color: whites, reds, and, ugh! YELLOWs makes for a mind thrashing, stomach churning experience. 

I don't dig the horror genre nor slasher films - I find them boring and predictable, with nothing but gore thrown like gratuitous pornographic humping. But I love thrillers, and Sin City takes the thriller genre, and turns it on its head by adding splatters of cinematic horror at just the right moments...

In a world that is drowning in horror, you have to be totally, overwhelmingly horrific to lift the eyebrows of the characters that were born sloshing in it.

To me, Mickey Rourke steals the show. Portraying a character that somewhat anticipates his turn in "The Wrestler," an anti-hero, horrifying but with a warm heart hidden beneath the tough leather, he becomes the emotional center of the whole show. He is driven, relentless, almost maniacal, but at the same time vulnerable and confused.

Bruce Willis, Benicio Del Toro, Clive Owen, the late-great Michael Clarke Duncan, Rutger Hauer, are highlights in the testosterone department - their faces mostly deformed, distorted, and transformed into comic (oops, sorry) graphic novel form. But none of them come close to the way Rourke becomes a Frankenstein-like monster you dread but feel pity for. The definition of pathos!

One of Rourke's scenes where he becomes human to the point of displaying tenderness.

Elijah Wood plays "Kevin," one of the most chilling villains I have EVER seen, no small feat, except maybe for maybe Nick Stahls "Yellow Bastard" from this same movie. To have a great villain, we all know, is vital to a thriller's success. Two have two awesome villains is a major cinematic accomplishment!

Hitchcock would be proud... Or extremely upset at the portrayal of this modern day, geeky, monster!

To take two wimpy actors like Wood and Stahls and transform them into the stuff nightmares are made of is amazing. Stahls was heavily "made up" for his character, but Wood is just the opposite, no masks or heavy make up, just a couple of geeky eyeglasses, and a Charlie Brown style nerdy shirt. The contrast between his looks and the nauseating horrors he delivers is out of this world.

I had seen this character briefly years ago, yet when I watched last night I still felt repulsed, scared!

The women in the film, Rosario Dawson, Carla Gugino, Jessica Alba (nothing but a prop in this one), etc, as per the noire genre, play the vixens, mostly scantily clad, sometimes packing heat.

You have to recognize Rodriguez' ability to paint his female form with stunning sensuality as well as lurid kinkiness (latinoooo!). The BDSM and fetichism imagery is way overboard (heck, the whole movie is) to the point of being laughable, but you can't help being riveted by what you see. 

Carla Gugino is too hot for words in this noire portrait - a tribute to erotic photography

These are not fragile girls but nasty, powerful, albeit exploited, women. But when it comes down to their bare bones characterization, they are whores, virgins, victims, and temptresses all at once.

Rosario Dawson - I didn't upload her fishnet, corset, black leather, whip-toting photo in order to be... subtle...

Beautiful use of color and composition - a precursor to "300"
but much bolder in its style and presentation in my opinion.

I think she needs a pack of Chubs!

A composition reminiscent of the "American Beauty" roses scene. The camera pulls out to reveal 
that the bed is heart shaped surrounded by dark, dreary, dungeon-like walls.

If you remember this character, you
are a Latino born in the early 60's!

Much of this imagery owes a lot to the lurid adult comics and "photo novelas" or photo graphic novels of the 70's that were so popular in Mexico, and I'm sure Rodríguez dipped his inspiration into that bloody (and hilarious) memory pool!

Hey, the marketing wizards at DC saw
the booming Hispanic market early on!

"Blue Demon was concerned. He had gone to his good friend's wedding 

and found that the bride lay dying in her virgin bedroom."

Virgin bedroom??? Hey, WTF, Mexicans were way ahead of the trend of Wrestling stars 

becoming movie heroes! Eat your heart out, Dwayne Johnson!!!

Like with any symphony, there are moments when the pace slows down or the action is not as compelling as the rest, but hey, the movie I believe merits a closer study and, above all, my utter respect and admiration for truly taking the film medium to a higher level. 

Many filmmakers love to emulate the classics like Hitchcock or Kubrick. But what made THEM great was innovation - pushing the boundaries of cinema, taking storytelling to new heights, and using technology and the tools of the movie trade to manipulate the public, reach into their hearts and minds, and take them inside a whole new world - beautiful or horrible. Miller, Rodríguez, and Tarantino accomplished that and more with this movie.

I'm glad I finally took the time to see it... Hmm, will probably see it again tonight!

- Roscoe