Dir.
Guy Ritchie, France/Uk, 2005, 115 mins
Cast:
Jason Statham, Ray Liotta, Andre Benjamin, Vincent Pastore
Stylish, witty, original, and it doesn't take itself too seriously. That is not the description for Guy Ritchie's new movie Revolver, but it is applicable to the directorial debut of his former right hand man, Matthew Vaughn's 2004 flick Layer Cake. It is notable that since the two parted ways Mr Madonna's quality of output has been less than credible. The viewers eyes were first scorched with his marital arm twist movie Swept Away, a painfully bad comedy that was in cinemas for little over a week. Revolver, a film which took 18 months to write, although on this evidence 18 minutes would seem more likely, is his attempt to regain the critical kudos achieved with Lock Stock, and Snatch.
Over-stylised, convoluted, and pretentiously serious are the choice poster words for Revolver. The fathomable aspects of the plot centre on Jason Statham's character Jake Green. He is released from prison after a seven year stretch and immediately attempts to track down the man that wronged him, Ray Liotta's Dorothy. He is aided on his quest by two bodyguards, one of whom is the impressive Andre Benjamin (of 3000 fame), who is one of the few highlights in the entire running time. Oh, and by the way, for no explainable reason Jake has only three days to live.
It could be a macabre form of enjoyment by paying for your ticket to work out exactly what's going on. There are a few vague themes that Ritchie seems to be playing with. The art of the perfect con, you must find your inner self but when you do you must realise that you are your own worst enemy (?). Colour is very important, Jake Green (geddit?) is the neutral colour, and his nemeses are lit in the different shades of the spectrum. If it seems that this review is descending into meandering gibberish then that is probably the best way to convey what you will experience from sitting through this mess.
Jason Statham is a fine actor, his range isn't exactly Brando but in Ritchie's previous efforts he has carried an aura of menace with a slight comedic charm. In Revolver, he is limited to gurning through his long hair, whilst giving one of the most intrusive voiceovers in cinema history. Ray Liotta, and remember this is the actor that dominated the screen in Goodfellas, is embarrassing as the leopard skin pant wearing Dorothy.
I am reaching into the bottom of the barrel for the plus sides. Some of the set-pieces are very well constructed, Ritchie is a director with visual flair but he needs to work from somebody else's script in the future instead of trying to fool the audience into thinking he's smarter than us with random Julius Caesar quotes. The high point of Revolver is when the film finishes, and in another touch of pretentiousness there are no credits, the film just finishes. But maybe that's down to the fact that nobody wants to own up to what is the disappointment of the year.
Matthew Rodgers
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