THE LIMEY (1999)
Grade: B+
Director: Steven Soderbegh
Screenplay: Lem Dobbs
Starring: Terence Stamp, Luis Guzman, Barry Newman, Peter Fonda, Nicky Katt, Lesley Ann Warren, Bill Duke
THE LIMEY is like a glimpse into its character's jagged soul. We see memories, fantasies, dialogue juxtaposed against stoic faces, gestures, looks, inflections all colliding into each other to form a patchwork of a life in stasis. It's a refreshing way to stage what is essentially a very straightforward revenge thriller. Steven Soderbergh, THE LIMEY's audacious auteur, with his deviationist take on familiar genres (as this film is), is slowly shaping up to be the Robert Altman of his generation. Angry, digressive semi rant begins here: Not that I buy into all that auteur crap (auteur: a French word designating that a film's director is its true author, never mind the writer, cinematographer, editor, and all the other unlauded people who make a film what it is--try imagining ROCKY without that rousing score) after all who among us can tell the difference between a Steve Minor film and a Jamie Blanks film? The majority of film isn't made as art but commerce. Producers know that fast paced, non-sensical crap like ARMAGEDDON isn't gonna enrich anyone's lives, but it will certainly make money if, of course, enough cash is spent on turning it into an event (i.e. copious fast food tie ins, trailers appearing a year before actual release date, action figures, ad nauseum). And you don't need an authorial voice to make that kind of crap. End of angry, digressive semi rant. Apology for angry, digressive semi-rant.
Back to gushing review: Altman's films never came with pre-sold action figures (imagine a Haven Hamilton doll complete with removable toupee) though he did place his inimitable, personal motif on every picture he directed. He deconstructed genres, like the detective story with the brilliant THE LONG GOODBYE, the country musical with the (overrated, in my not that humble opinion) NASHVILLE, and one of my faves, the western with MCCABE AND MRS. MILLER. Soderbergh has been on a comparative path, turning the romantic thriller homage, OUT OF SIGHT, into a polished gem brimming with intelligence and the kind of star chemistry that should be the norm in Hollywood productions.
Before OUT OF SIGHT he toyed with film noir, in his existential crime drama THE UNDERNEATH, by juggling narrative time, and color coding each of his separate threads. THE LIMEY is a similar stream of conscious-ish journey, made memorable almost entirely because of how Soderbergh chose to edit it. The director uses editing techniques to manipulate time into narrative abbreviation, cutting to and fro between expected and imagined events, juggling dialogue and instances, then bringing it together for a rather heady experience. And without the semi-complex narrative, it would be safe to say that THE LIMEY might have about as much emotional impact of DEATH WISH 5. Instead Soderbergh has created an understated, multi-layered character study.
Unlike the majority of "hipster" indie flicks that seem to jump around between flash backs and flash-forwards for the sake of coolness, Soderbergh has a reason for all his tricks. Those tricks enhance rather than take away from the story. Compare, for instance, THE LIMEY to the highly derivative film noir, BEST LAID PLANS, in which we begin midway through the story for no reason other than I assume the director saw PULP FICTION and wanted his movie to be just as hip as that one. Soderbegh isn't overly interested in appearing hip. He wants you to feel the dysfunction, rage, and solitary sadness that emanates from his lead character. The editing he uses (Side note: Soderbergh began his career as a film editor) ratchets up emotion, reminding us of the charcter's past haunts, and possible future.
Just as OUT OF SIGHT was an homage to 1970's heist flicks, THE LIMEY is constructed like a clever nod to 60's vigilante films like POINT BLANK and GET CARTER (which was actually released in '71). It stars Terence Stamp as Wilson, a just released criminal, who travels from London to LA in hopes of murdering his daughters killer, famed record producer, Terry Valentine (Peter Fonda), and, well, anyone else who gets in the way as is tradition for a film like this. Sounds a whole lot like late night cable fare doesn't it? Well Soderbergh treats it as if it's more than that, filling it with rich subtleties, eventually turning his run of the mill story into something substantial.
For one, consider the similarities between Wilson and Valentine. Both men made their money off counterculture music in the 60's, Valentine as a record producer, Wilson as a thief who stole Pink Floyd tickets and sold them for a profit. Wilson is just as criminal as Valentine, only he's willing to get his hands dirty. Valentine must turn to his aging protector, Avery (played by 60's character actor Barry Newman in a chillingly detached manner). They discuss killing Wilson in moments that play like informal business meetings. The two men don't seem to particularly like each other, but they are partners and gripped together through business. Whenever we see the two together, the guys fall into the same act; Valentine frets about while Avery comforts him.
The performances are mostly low-key (save for an excitable turn by Nicky Katt as a hyper verbal hit man) but effective. Character actors like Luis Guzman, Bill Duke, and Katt give vivid performances, all of them registering beyond their brief screen time. Stamp acquits himself nicely as something of a Cockney Clint Eastwood, with his magnetic, steely-eyed stare, snow white hair, and high cheekbones, he looks like a man determined for vengeance and maybe a little redemption if he has the time. When he speaks, which is rare, the words come out throaty and jumbled. At one point Luis Guzman's character remarks to Lesley Ann Warren's character "Do you understand half the shit this guy says?" to which she replies "No but I know what he means". We always know what he means.
Those going into LIMEY expecting a straight revenge fantasy will most likely be disappointed. The flick doesn't offer much in the way of action other than some minor gun battles and a very mannered car chase. But those looking for emotional subtleties and sub-texture will find much to like. Everyone else will call it slight. Though I guess nowadays any film that doesn't assault us with bombastic images and manipulative emotion could be classified as slight.
THE LIMEY unfolds in fragments like a puzzle slowly being put together in front of us with some of the bits still missing. Soderbegh leaves it up to you to fill in those bits for yourself. I think (again, in my very un-humble opinion), one of the major problems with the current film going community is the complete lack of interest in anything that challenges, even on the slightest level. No, THE LIMEY isn't Kafka, but it does ask more from its audiences than most other films in its genre if only because it approaches timeworn material in a fresh, unconventional manner. People tend to want to see the same garbage done the same way again and again. They want to stare passively at the screen and have their entertainment do all the work for them. Which is why PAYBACK, an utterly conventional revenge thriller, gets a nation wide release and reaps over a hundred million dollars, while a quieter but more emotionally in tune film like THE LIMEY opens in a couple art houses. And that’s all well and good, because if THE LIMEY did open everywhere it would be gone in two days.
This is the kind of thoughtful indie film that I wish we could see more of. It's hip in a sort of retro anti-hip kind of way, and it isn't concerned with the current generations love of irony over genuine emotion. Irony has become one of films greatest enemies, nulling away feelings and hiply commenting on itself. SCREAM and PULP FICTION were both terrific films, and following their subsequent releases, many argued that they would bring forth an indie revolution of clever, intelligent films like in the mid-70's when it was actually in vogue to be challenged by a movie. It didn't, instead they ironized our culture and turned everything into a joke--now, quickly becoming a tired old joke we've heard too many times. For all its old fashioned 60's nostalgia THE LIMEY is a welcome breath of fresh air in the 90's.