The LimeyTo what lengths would a father go to discover the circumstances of his daughter's tragic death and then to avenge her? The Limey--directed by Steven Soderbergh and written by Lem Dobbs--explores this question, doing so by way of a jazzy and semi-experimental homage to some of the classic revenge flicks of the Sixties and Seventies, like Get Carter and Point Blank. Terence Stamp is "Wilson", father to the late Jenny Wilson (Melissa George), who died ostensibly in a car wreck in Los Angeles. Flying in to Los Angeles from a nine-year stint in prison from Great Britain, Wilson goes on the hunt for the truth, pitting him against an erstwhile record producer turned money launderer, Terry Valentine (Peter Fonda).
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Soderbergh has built a body of work on an unorthodox style of filmmaking, though what this means can be hard to define. In the case of The Limey, the story is presented through flashbacks and nonchronological editing designed to invite the audience to "interpret" the implications of these images against the plot. And while there is a plot to The Limey--we'll come back to that later--the true enjoyment of the film largely comes from piecing together the puzzle that is Wilson and his relationship with his daughter. This is a constant through The Limey, and the story is essentially framed around an airline flight Wilson is on, though it is unclear whether the events of the movie are a memory or moments yet to come until the end. This is an uncommon approach to a crime/revenge movie anymore, but this experimental crafting of the film gives it a unique identity in and of itself. Wilson is informed about his daughter's death by a letter coming from one of her friends from an acting class she was enrolled in--a man named Eduardo Roel (Luis Guzmán). Eduardo suspects foul play, but is afraid to get too deeply involved by pursuing any kind of investigation himself. Nevertheless, Wilson recruits him to aid him on his revenge quest, proactively targeting Valentine even without Wilson knowing that Valentine has anything to do with her death at all. This is where, plot-wise, The Limey starts to break down, even this early on into the story. The story depends on a confrontation between Wilson and Valentine, even though Valentine's involvement doesn't become evident until later. Why the inconsistency? Because The Limey is the kind of movie that is more at home by embracing the "feel" of a crime movie, preferring to remain enigmatic, emphasizing emotion and tone over plot. For example, Wilson's meeting with Eduardo is comprised of two different scenes spliced together--one at Eduardo's house and one while they are driving in his car. Their conversation, however, has a natural flow which should be otherwise impossible if these scenes were happening separately. This unusual way of introducing characters continues with Wilson's meeting with Elaine (Lesley Ann Warren), Jenny's acting coach. More than just inviting exposition, though, these scenes help to inform the audience about the values and mindset of these characters that dialogue alone would fail to capture. Consider that in the midst of Wilson and Elaine's meeting, there are shots of Elaine walking through her apartment, looking dejected, while the camera focuses on a framed advertisement for a corny feel-good movie she once starred in. We instinctively understand that, like Jenny, she came to Hollywood with dreams of making it big, only for those dreams to deflate by degrees with time. These slight details are crucial for understanding the character's motivations in their interaction with Wilson; Eduardo is afraid of reprisal that could hurt his family, and Elaine is initially defensive and borderline antagonistic toward Wilson, well aware that he was barely a part of her life growing up.
The Limey is a self-aware movie, wearing its inspiration from similar movies of yesteryear on its sleeve. An obvious nod to Point Blank happens early as Wilson is marching his way toward a warehouse where Valentine's drug trafficking colleagues operate. The march is in slow motion, intercut with other scenes, and immediately recalls the same kind of determined stride done by Lee Marvin as Walker from Point Blank. The non-chronological editing--not to mention The Limey featuring an angry British gangster as the protagonist--is clearly inspired by Michael Caine's Carter of Get Carter, even if Wilson is far more curmudgeonly then the suave and virile Carter. Nevertheless, both men have almost identical drives and missions. Both men conclude in advance that foul play was at work, in part because they are both intimately familiar with the nature of crime. Wilson's past is depicted through ephemeral flashbacks; much of the content is actually footage from a Ken Loach movie featuring a much younger Terence Stamp called Poor Cow. Most movies would handle a flashback by way of casting a younger actor who looks like the older one, but the idiosyncratic Soderbergh once again defies expectations by cleverly infusing his film with this obscure example of Sixties British cinema to add a level of verisimilitude that would have been absent otherwise. Peter Fonda's casting as Valentine is also likely deliberate. Fonda arguably made his biggest splash with his performance in the landmark counterculture movie, Easy Rider; so his casting here--and Valentine's fixation on the Sixties--adds another dimension to the film. (The soundtrack underscores this with selections like Steppenwolf's "Magic Carpet Ride".) These men are relics from a bygone era, representing a time and place that no longer truly exists, evidenced in their clothing and manner of speech, not to mention their values. In a way, The Limey is nostalgic for the era, especially so for the style of filmmaking it seeks to exemplify, while highlighting the inherent flaws of them at the same time. Valentine keeps a pretty girl named Adhara (Amelia Heinle) in his mansion, as he did with Jenny, more as an ornament to his opulent lifestyle than out of love. It is a regressive attitude that from today's viewpoint marks him as a womanizer, even though in similar films from yesteryear, it would have identified him more as a "playboy" instead; with time, the meaning changes. And while the language and violence may be rougher than in those older films, this movie wouldn't feel out of place if it had been released in that era, even if our perspective has shifted.
Recommended for: Fans of a lean and mean--like its protagonist--revenge flick that favors style over substance. The Limey is a self-aware quickie that feels as though it was made (in part) with film buffs in mind, for audiences who can appreciate its more subtle details amidst the violence and unorthodox approach to the genre.
The Limey is a self-aware movie, wearing its inspiration from similar movies of yesteryear on its sleeve. An obvious nod to Point Blank happens early as Wilson is marching his way toward a warehouse where Valentine's drug trafficking colleagues operate. The march is in slow motion, intercut with other scenes, and immediately recalls the same kind of determined stride done by Lee Marvin as Walker from Point Blank. The non-chronological editing--not to mention The Limey featuring an angry British gangster as the protagonist--is clearly inspired by Michael Caine's Carter of Get Carter, even if Wilson is far more curmudgeonly then the suave and virile Carter. Nevertheless, both men have almost identical drives and missions. Both men conclude in advance that foul play was at work, in part because they are both intimately familiar with the nature of crime. Wilson's past is depicted through ephemeral flashbacks; much of the content is actually footage from a Ken Loach movie featuring a much younger Terence Stamp called Poor Cow. Most movies would handle a flashback by way of casting a younger actor who looks like the older one, but the idiosyncratic Soderbergh once again defies expectations by cleverly infusing his film with this obscure example of Sixties British cinema to add a level of verisimilitude that would have been absent otherwise. Peter Fonda's casting as Valentine is also likely deliberate. Fonda arguably made his biggest splash with his performance in the landmark counterculture movie, Easy Rider; so his casting here--and Valentine's fixation on the Sixties--adds another dimension to the film. (The soundtrack underscores this with selections like Steppenwolf's "Magic Carpet Ride".) These men are relics from a bygone era, representing a time and place that no longer truly exists, evidenced in their clothing and manner of speech, not to mention their values. In a way, The Limey is nostalgic for the era, especially so for the style of filmmaking it seeks to exemplify, while highlighting the inherent flaws of them at the same time. Valentine keeps a pretty girl named Adhara (Amelia Heinle) in his mansion, as he did with Jenny, more as an ornament to his opulent lifestyle than out of love. It is a regressive attitude that from today's viewpoint marks him as a womanizer, even though in similar films from yesteryear, it would have identified him more as a "playboy" instead; with time, the meaning changes. And while the language and violence may be rougher than in those older films, this movie wouldn't feel out of place if it had been released in that era, even if our perspective has shifted.
Recommended for: Fans of a lean and mean--like its protagonist--revenge flick that favors style over substance. The Limey is a self-aware quickie that feels as though it was made (in part) with film buffs in mind, for audiences who can appreciate its more subtle details amidst the violence and unorthodox approach to the genre.