Describing the plot of this movie is almost pointless. Because how many times have we seen the premise of a dangerous family member going for revenge against the bad guy that killed one of his loved ones? Yet, as usual, with Steven Soderbergh at the helm this movie is seemingly original and fresh, and a directing wonder to behold. Unfortunately that directing is very necessary to add some weight to a very shallow script.
I recently had the "pleasure" of listening to the commentary track of this movie on DVD. It was Soderbergh, who is always very informative and nice, and then screenwriter Len Dobbs. Dobbs, aside from cussing all the way through (a pet peeve of mine), basically railed and vented at critics, audiences, and Soderbergh himself for the manhandling of what he seemed to think was a brilliant script. I must highly disagree. I can't imagine that a few extra scenes would have helped Dobbs extremely basic and straightforward script.
The story, simply, is about British ex-con Wilson (Terence Stamp), who comes to LA to get revenge on Teddy Valentine (Peter Fonda) who he believed killed his daughter. They chase around, exchange some threatening looks, and eventually it's over. The movie is short, and when it's good it's because of either the acting or directing. Never the plot. Some of the dialogue is nice, which I will credit to Dobbs, but overall the film falls short because it is so shallow. Soderbergh never shortchanges the story, never gives us characters so vague and events that we don't understand. I listened as they each talked about all the characters and what they meant and symbolized and I was genuinely impressed. But what they failed to do was show any of it onscreen.
But there is some fun to be had in watching Terence Stamp, in the lead, and being his cool self. He does an amazing job, perfectly mixing a toughness and a sense of humor. His cockney accent is really funny at times. He has a stare that could melt metal, and Soderbergh makes good use of it. he's simply a really great character and performed very well.
But Soderbergh really makes the movie. He mixes lots of colors with some really bleak colors. He uses flashbacks and freeze frames. He'll give us dialogue, then cut back to before that particular line started. It's a really artistic and interesting use of editing. But again, it was simply needed to make everything seem more interesting than it is. There is a scene in which Wilson is fantasizing about killing Valentine that is really good though. There are multiple takes in which Wilson shoots Valentine in a different place every time, eventually in the head. It's very well done.
"The Limey" has the plot you've seen a million times, and the meat itself is pretty light. But with Soderbergh at the helm, and Stamp on screen, it gains a lot of class and artistic merit to it. But it's all in the direction and acting. Sadly, it really holds the movie back.
Dave Wilson (Terence Stamp) is a tough English ex-con fresh out of prison who travels to Los Angeles to avenge his daughter s death. He quickly finds ...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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