Lucky Number Slevin (2006)

Slevin Kelevra (Josh Hartnett) has two problems : First, he can’t keep his mouth shut and second, he is not Nick Fisher… In 2006, The duo of director Paul McGuigan and writer Jason Smilovic brought to screen one of the most deliciously indulgent noir thriller that may even become a “cult” favorite. Despite its predictable plot and pretentious look, this movie about mistaken identity manages to entertain. This is one of those thrillers where a suspension of disbelief is a must. Just do that and you’ll enjoy the ride.

Slevin is having a real bad day. I mean, a real, real bad day. He loses his job, loses his apartment and finds his girlfriend cheating on him. That’s when he decides to stay with his friend Nick Fisher for a few days . But just as he lands in New York, he is mugged and his nose is broken. When he gets to Nick’s apartment, he finds the door unlocked and Nick missing. Just when Slevin is making himself at home in Nick’s apartment, he is picked up by two men of The Boss (Morgan Freeman), a mafia lord. The men obviously take him to be Nick Fisher who owes The Boss a large amount and present him to The Boss. The Boss gives Slevin two choices : either pay the money or do a small job for The Boss, which involves the killing of the rival mafia lord, The Rabbi’s son. Slevin is given some time to think about it. Just as Slevin returns to Nick’s apartment, he’s picked by The Rabbi’s men. It seems that Nick also owed a large amount to The Rabbi (Sir Ben Kingsley). Now, Slevin is caught in the war of these two crime lord. Also involved in the game is a dangerous, world-class assassin Mr. Goodkat (Bruce Willis) and Detective Brikowski (Stanley Tucci) who is keeping an eye on Slevin. Only Lindsay (Lucy Liu), Nick’s next-door neighbor, wants to help Slevin with his situation. But as is the case in many noir thriller, things may not be as they seem to be.

At just 10 minutes shy of 2 hours, “Lucky Number Slevin” is a fairly long movie. But it moves along quite pleasantly keeping the viewers engaged. Surely, it loses the steam towards the climax. However even then, it remains interesting. This happens mainly because of the witty dialogues. “Lucky Number Slevin” contains some really witty and humorous dialogues. Josh Hartnett spoils a few talking glibly. But overall the exchanges between the characters keep us chuckling. Slevin is one guy who can’t resist wisecracking. And he chooses to do it always at the wrong time. Like, when Detective Brikowski asks him who he is, he smugly says “Philosophically speaking?”. He just can’t keep his trap shut. So much that The Boss actually remarks, referring to his broken nose : “I bet it was that mouth that got you that nose”. The sparkling dialogues only add to the fast pace of the movie and make this movie seem better that it actually is. Paul McGuigan understands the script and has deliberately paced the movie fast so that the viewers won’t get into analyzing the content a lot. When you analyze the script, you can find lot of loopholes in it. For example, Slevin’s utter indifference about the whole situation (whatever he might say about ataraxia), or the lack of motivation behind Mr. Goodkat’s behavior. That’s why I said : This is one of those thrillers where a suspension of disbelief is a must. It’s the ride that counts in this movie. And the ride proves to be gloriously entertaining.

Josh Hartnett is not the best actor in this movie. The smug look on his face is annoying sometimes; but he does a decent job. Morgan Freeman, on the other hand, does an excellent job of playing the mafia lord who is amused with Slevin. Bruce Willis does what he does best : he grunts and he gives those cold-hard menacing looks. Sir Ben Kingsley, a great actor otherwise, fails to make an impact here. His dialogue delivery is far too hurried here and so it loses the punch in the lines. At times, he seems like some caricature. But for me, the best actor in this movie is not Josh Hartnett, Morgan Freeman or even Bruce Willis. It’s Mykelti Williamson who plays Sloe, The Boss’s man who comes to pick up Slevin the first time. He’s on screen for less than five minutes. But he can have you rolling on the floor even in that much time. His “Hey look, look, look..Tell it to the one-legged man so he can bump it off down the road” line is priceless. Wish he had been give a little more screen-time.

“Lucky Number Slevin” is not the best thriller that you’ll ever see. But this is definitely one the most entertaining movies that you’ll ever see. I’ll definitely recommend it to all movie-lovers. I’ve read many a critics dissing this movie for its wafer-thin plot. Well, I’ll only say to them : “Hey, tell it to the one-legged man so he can bump it off down the road”…