Sin City is pure cinema. But what does that mean? It means Sin City does what films were made to do. It's the reason kids pick up cameras and dream of making movies. Sin City harkens back to the good old days of pulp entertainment while foreshadowing the future of film. It's a fresh breath of originality and the best movie of the year thus far.
This is the movie I've been waiting for Robert Rodriguez to make. As an aspiring director a few years back, I read his film-making memoir Rebel Without A Crew. His passion for directing leapt off the page; he had technical knowledge, classic influences and a visionary approach. All he lacked was the right material for a great movie. Three Spy Kids later, Rodriguez and Frank Miller's Sin City graphic novels are a match made in heaven.
Sin City tells three interconnected tales about the down and dirty inhabitants of the titular town; a brutal hitman seeking revenge for the murder of his one-night lover, a killer caught in the middle of a brewing war between an army of call girls and the mob and a disgraced cop trying to protect a young girl from a sadistic rapist. The cast includes Bruce Willis, Rosario Dawson, Benicio Del Toro, Jessica Alba, Clive Owen, Brittany Murphy and Mickey Rourke. There's also another '80s icon and a hobbit in there, but I won't spoil the surprise.
With Sin City, Miller and Rodriguez have done the impossible; they made a completely faithful comic book adaptation. As a result, Sin City is a 1940s film noir for the digital age. It's like Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler channeled through the gritty violence of Sam Peckinpah and the special effects of George Lucas. Rodriguez used Miller's work as literal storyboards, framing nearly every shot of the film exactly as it appears in the books, which is why Miller is credited as co-director; he set up the entire movie -- Rodriguez just said, "Action."
As a pioneer of digital technology, Rodriguez filmed everything in front of a green screen. Most scenery and props were digitally altered, and even the underwater scenes were shot dry before computer effects. Remarkably, these flashy visual enhancements are virtually invisible, allowing Sin City to maintain the essence of a film noir.
Except for a few instances of colored eyes and crimson blood, the film is black and white. And there's great use of chiaroscuro; the way light and dark mix like water and oil. But most importantly, there's the classic glib dialogue and deadpan voiceover. I was worried to hear Miller's words come out of real human mouths, but every actor handles the script impeccably. There's a sense that the characters in Sin City know that what they're saying sounds ridiculous, but they still relish in the delivery. (Note: Mickey Rourke was born to read film noir narration. This is his Shakespeare.)
While the film doesn't hold back on the extreme violence of Miller's graphic novels, it's obvious that the film's world is nowhere near reality. Anytime someone can be hit in the head with a sledgehammer and still wax sarcastic ... well, let's just say Sin City won't ever be confused with a documentary on urban life.
My only nitpick with the movie is the disconnect between its classic atmosphere, boasting old cars and stylized clothes, and its characters using modern cell phones. It's not a big deal, but with such a timeless feel, I don't want to watch Sin City in 30 years and notice Alexis Bledel's outdated Nokia.
Sin City is not just a rollercoaster ride of a film, it's an all-out cinematic assault. It will punch you in the stomach, stomp on your foot, then steal your wallet. And you'll want to go back and visit Sin City all over again.
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