Fans of film noir rejoice! The genre makes a stunningly beautiful and shocking comeback in the film Sin City, which is directed by Robert Rodriguez and based on Frank Miller’s classic series of graphic novels.
“Sin City” stays true to the comic books since it was filmed almost entirely in black and white with minimal use of color which helps you figure out which elements are important. Color is also occasionally used to create an eerie feel, which makes the movie both beautiful and creepy at the same time. Take the scene between Marv (Mickey Rourke) and Goldie (Jaime King), for example. She is in full-color, almost glowing. Her long, curly golden hair is glinting with light, the heart-shaped bed that she is laying on is also in a gorgeous blood red, and the background is all black. Marv is in black and white, as if he isn’t even there.
The story is the tale of the fictitious Basin City and the people in that city. The movie flows from the pages of the comic books onto the screen. The art of the comic is not lost when moved to film; as a matter of fact, it is a major part of the film. Frank Miller’s art is placed directly into the film in some places giving the film itself a comic book feel. The camera angles also add a great deal to the film keeping it noir-ish, without losing the comic book feel.
Some of the scenes are so beautiful that you lose yourself in the film and almost forget about all the violence. One scene in particular does this very well. It is the scene in which Dwight (Clive Owen) is sinking into a tar pit, as his hand goes under everything fades to the style of art in the novels. Everything on screen is black, save for Dwight who has turned into a white silhouette sinking into a sea of black. The image is left in your mind because of the stunning contrast of the black and the white.
Another point that makes the film is the stunning use of color. When they do use it almost each character has something that is in color about them, and whenever color is used it is a clue to you that something important is going on in this scene. It feels much like The Wizard of Oz, in the way that this film is a breakthrough in the use of color, camera work and cinematography.
Although the film is very violent, almost none of the blood is in color. Instead it is all white which does make it so much more dramatic and shocking because the blood is so white it almost glows. You almost can’t go an entire scene without seeing someone get shot, stabbed, or beaten, but it flows with the film. And the way it is handled you are shocked, but you can deal with what is going on. Also, it feels like you are right there in the movie, not a member of an audience watching a film.
The film will leave you shocked in the end, feeling empty and dead, wondering what is wrong in that things like that could happen if the film is a true commentary on society. I would highly recommend that you see this movie as long as you have a strong stomach, because the film is so wonderful looking, what with the camera work and use of color, or lack thereof. The film’s story line is also good; it’s the standard “good-cop-out-to-get-the-bad-cops,” and “guy-loves-girl-but-girl-gets-murdered-so-guy-goes-on-a-killing-spree” affair, only more violent and more beautiful. So if you have the stomach for it, go check out “Sin City.”
