Sin City

I saw Robert Rodriguez's new film Sin City today. The movie is based on Frank Miller's comic of the same name (he even got a controversial credit as co-director), and is probably the best film adaptation of a comic that I've seen. Rodriguez's cinematography is really well executed and very visually stimulating. The whole film is shot in black and white with splotches of color mixed in, similar to the style used by Gary Ross in Pleasantville (although the city of Pleasantville and Sin City couldn't be more diametrically opposed). Bruce Willis, Mickey Rourke, and Clive Owen are featured as the three main 'good guys' along with an ensemble cast that includes Jessica Alba, Elijah Wood (as a serial killer/cannibal), Rosario Dawson, Benicio Del Toro, Michael Clarke Duncan, Josh Harnett, Michael Madsen, Jaime King, and a surprisingly not as annoying as usual Brittany Murphy.

Sin City is not a film for the faint of heart as it contains more than it's fair share of Tarantino/Robert Rodriguez style ultra-violence. Benicio Del Toro gets nearly as much screen time as a severed head as he does fully intact. More than once I found myself saying 'There's no way they're actually going to show ' only to find out that yes indeed they did in fact plan on showing it in all its painful detail.

While Sin City isn't a classic, if you can make it through the violence, you'll find you've been rewarded by seeing a film that's different from any you've seen before. In my mind that in and of itself makes it worth seeing.

If you'd like to read more about the film, Salon has posted a review.