The Limey (1999)

A hidden masterpiece

After watching "The Limey" I was in awe of what I had beheld. This movie was dynamic and mute simultaneously. The genre of this film is a neo-noir, in other words a modern version of those crime/mysteries films made back in the golden days of cinema. These old school movies were black and white, "noir" is French for "black", hence the term film noir.

A thousand apologies for the deviation on my cinema history lesson, I will return to the review at hand. I have to say that I am on the fence with Steve Soderbergh's work. Some of his movies are great; I loved the remake of Solaris in 2002, "Out of Sight" and "Traffic". Consequently, I hated all of the "Ocean" films and "Full Frontal". So I wasn't sure what to except from "The Limey". In the end, I feel Soderbergh hit the nail on the head. The acting, editing, cinematography, acting and story were stellar.

The plot is simplistic; Terence Stamp plays a British ex-con who has traveled to Los Angeles to "investigate" the murder of his estranged daughter Jenny. In the process, he hooks up with some of his daughter's friends (played well by Lesley Ann Warren and Luis Guzman) in order to solve the conundrum of his Jenny's death in a very conspiratorial fashion. Jenny was involved with a ritzy music producer (played smoothly by Peter Fonda), who appears to have his hand in her death.

What I thought was sort of neat about this film is the use of flashbacks. The movie "Poor Cow" was used in order to provide flashback's to Terence Stamp's character. "Poor Cow" featured Stamp at a much younger age and worked well with "The Limey". I don't think I have ever seen this technique used in a movie before. As for the editing, I found it amazing. It might annoy some viewers; it is somewhat non-liner in fashion. The editing sort of displaces some scenes in the continuity of the film and/or foreshadows events. There is also a distressed emphasis of dialogue with the editing. Characters will be in one setting and then switch to another, while the dialogue is still going. There might even be a scene where the dialogue is going and none of the characters are speaking. It reminded me somewhat of the movie "Memento".

I have heard some criticism of Terence Stamp's character in this movie. That he displayed neither emotion nor it didn't seem plausible that he would be that intense about finding who did or didn't kill his daughter. Also it seemed odd that Jenny's friends would aid her father that Jenny herself was never totally copasetic with. I believe the retort to that theory is that both Jenny's friends and father are aiding one and other out of restitution for their lack of involvement in what happened to Jenny. Perhaps, from their perception, they could have done more to prevent Jenny's ominous outcome. As for the end of the movie, I had to sit and really think about it. Perhaps I am being a bit too quixotic, but once I processed and digested this film, I felt very gratified with the conclusion.

I suppose I can understand why someone might not like this movie. It isn't a shoot out revenge film and there isn't non-stop action in it. Nevertheless if one is able to get submerged in the story, they might find that this 90 minute or so movie goes by quickly. I also found the soundtrack amazing and I ordered it as soon as the movie ended. The score was done by Cliff Martinez, who has scored many of Soderbergh's films, including the hypnotic score to Solaris (2002).

My only regret about "The Limey" is that I hadn't seen it sooner. June 16, 2008

I am in the minority here....

but I just didn't like this movie. I am a fan of Soderburgh..Traffic was a great movie, Erin Brokovich, Out of Sight, etc...but this movie just didn't do a whole lot for me. Honestly the best thing about this movie was the always wonderful Terrence Stamp. Peter Fonda was a joke, and the very underrated Luis Guzman wasn't given enough to do.

I wanted to like this film, but I couldn't. My husband rented this from Netflix after reading an article stating this was one of the top ten movies for guys...my husband is a man's man...and he didn't like this movie either.

Nope, I think it tried to be too much, it wanted to be an action movie, why through in the convoluted storytelling. It wanted to be a film noir, why through in the cheesy actions sequences. Lots of fine actors, but this film is overrated..period.

Watch Momento for a better story, better directing, and better acting. June 10, 2008

Way Above the Action Flick Level

The Limey is an action movie that transcends the genre because of excellent acting, photography, and direction.

The story has been covered many times by other reviewers. My comment is that the ending is enigmatic, which adds to the movie's appeal. The characters are deftly, but sparsely written and portrayed.

The color combinations, the lighting, and the extensive use of close-ups speak to the quality of the photography. The care that went into the shooting of many scenes in this movie is better than many art house movies. This movie is eye-candy much as the neo-noir Wild Things is.

Finally, the direction is excellent. The quality of the jump-cut editing, the inclusion of fantasy scenes to head fake the watcher, and the excellence with both broad panoramas (the trip up to Big Sur is fantastic) and close-ups (e.g., Wilson on the jet from London to LA) are done again render this near art house quality.

To be clear, this is a thriller/action movie. There are lots of bad people in it and they suffer bad outcomes; sometimes visible, sometimes left imagined. If you like action movies and want to see one by someone who understands the craft of making movies, see The Limey. February 25, 2008

scattered and unreliable, like memories always are

Terrence Stamp is taking a plane back to England after some dirty business in Los Angeles. While on the plane, he thinks back, not only on what he has just done, but on his life and the choices he has made (and perhaps should have).
His memories are unreliable, as memories will be, and you are left to sort through them.
What some might mistake for continuity errors are actually faulty memories. Characters appear in different clothes, say things differently each time certain scenes are replayed. Sometimes he hears only what he wants to hear. Later, he often realizes that he missed something crucial in what was being said. At times he replays all the possibilities of what he could have done (see his first encounter with Peter Fonda), and in others he is imagining what must have transpired beyond the limits of his observation.
Much has been made of the editing and non-linear story line as being nothing but gimmicks. But in this case, these are not tricks, but instead are essential devices for understanding his character and his actions.
Beautifully filmed and solidly acted, The Limey plays out like a dream, flows like a poem, and leaves the viewer with the task of deciding what is what.
Ostensibly a revenge film, The Limey is more of a character study and a meditation on who is really to blame when things go this wrong.
This film is not for careless diversionary viewing. It takes a little time and work, but (in this reviewer's mind) it's well worth the effort. February 15, 2008

Slightly Overrated

The movie had a unique visual style and was often beautiful to watch, though I found the constant editing, which made for somewhat avant-garde cinematography, kind of jarring and unsettling, even off-putting at times. At other times, I found the concentrated attention required to follow so many sound overlays and picture splices to be almost meditative! Were the story a little more interesting, perhaps I'd have thought more of the technique.

OK, it was something new and deserving of recognition, but flashy editing can't be the entire reason for greatness in a film. In terms of plot, this wasn't a terribly exciting movie. Something in the anti-hero's quest for revenge (which was in fact the whole story) left me less than satisfied. Peter Fonda's character was often more likeable and sympathetic than Terence Stamp's. After Stamp has offed a countless number of other guys in his pursuit, he finally gets to ask Fonda the real circumstances surrounding his daughter's death and there is some irony in the answer he receives.. this is the story in a nutshell. While Stamp's character was half-interesting, it was difficult to care a great deal about his revenge, not having seen the injustice perpetuated on his daughter. Furthermore, Fonda being a more or less amiable guy made it hard to really sympathize with the whole revenge mission.

There were some interesting minor characters in the movie which helped move things along. Fonda's bodyguard added a few more volts, as did the pool-playing street assassin and his semi-retarded partner.

Had the story created more interest (in Stamp's revenge?), I'd probably have better appreciated this experiment in editing, which was original, though seeming to delay the story at times, rather than enhancing it. This review may not give the impression, but overall it was a decent movie and I don't regret having seen it. I just don't think Soderbergh's 'stir-fry', or collage-style, editing techniques made it a 5 star movie.

February 10, 2008

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