THE REEL CRITIC

Author: EMILY THOMPSON

"Lucky Number Slevin" wishes it were as good, or as lucky, as Quentin Tarantino's "Reservoir Dogs." Directed by Paul McGuigan and written by Jason Smilovic, "Lucky Number Slevin" illustrates a caricature of the elite crime world, found in many of Tarantino's films. The characters, the nonlinear plot, the speedy and witty dialogue, the editing, all seem copied from a Tarantino for Dummies guidebook. That being said, the movie still moves and pulls you right along with it. The twists and turns, though at times obvious, warrant attention especially when they involve an all-star cast including Morgan Freeman, Ben Kingsley, Bruce Willis, Lucy Liu and Josh Hartnett.

The movie starts out with four murders, one right after the other. The ubiquitous Goodkat (Willis) explains this slew of death as the 'Kansas City Shuffle,' a reference that is not fully clarified until the end of the movie. The viewer is then left to untangle the incoherent web of circumstances that lead to Slevin (Hartnett), who simply wishes to housesit for his friend Nick. Here we meet Nick's neighbor Lindsey (Liu). With her bouncy attitude, Liu seems to be the sole personality in the entire film. However, nude and cut-up, Slevin embodies the stereotypical smart aleck who ends up saving the day, think Seth Cohen on steroids. Unfortunately for Slevin, his good looks do not save him from a horrible case of mistaken identity.

Taken from the apartment by two idiotic thugs, Slevin, believed to be Nick, finds himself in front of the Boss (Freeman). The thugs provide one of the few moments of comic relief with their constant bickering and strange New York accents. The Boss demands either a debt owed to him or to murder the son of his rival, the Rabbi (Kingsley). Slevin then finds himself in the office of the Rabbi, who needs him to protect his son, the Fairy (the nicknames in this movie may be one of its most redeeming qualities). These two kingpins use Slevin as their pawn, a metaphor overtly depicted in the several chess games between the characters throughout the movie. It is these obvious attempts at artistic references that ruin the flow of this film. One expects sincere or even believable words to spout from the mouths of greats like Freeman and Kingsley, but instead one hears tired mafia phrases.

The deceptive flashback of the first four murders is the key to the movie's success. However, it would have been nice if the script could back up such a seemingly complicated plot point. With Lindsey acting as the only detective in the movie, the viewer is left with a somewhat stale taste in their mouth. Though relieved during points of cute flirtation between Slevin and Lindsey, the movie makes no real attempt at sincerity until the very end. But by then it is too little, too late.

The sneaky camera work and brightly colored settings steal the attention away just enough to cover up the empty gestures throughout the movie. There also exists the problem of the pointless cop character played by Stanley Tucci. He, like many of the other side characters, adds nothing to the movie - only complicating matters for Slevin and Goodkat. And although it is quite nice to see Josh Hartnett only in a towel, it would have been better to see more acting instead of sly little smirks.

"Lucky Number Slevin" may inspire a select few to watch it over and over again in order to find its dirty little secrets, like those that can be found in the films of Tarantino. Unlike those films, however, "Lucky Number Slevin" does not warrant analytical discussion or even a ten-dollar movie ticket.