Most people seem to either love or hate this film. I on the other hand loved a lot of it and basically hated one scene (The lap dance scene, just because it was such an overdone and farfetched scene. SPOILER!! No gangster is going to rat someone out for a lapdance. In reality, the guy would be shot for being a rat by his fellow gangsters. That's quite obvious I think.) A part from that, I found this to be a very entertaining film, with a decent dose of humor and action. There are many very good acting performances in this flick. The desert scene with Tom Waits as the preacher is one of my favorite scenes in recent memory, I thought it was truly classic. Knightley totally delivers in a role I thought she may not suit, what can I say, I was totally wrong. Domino is loosely based on the story of a real female bounty hunter and the screenplay was written by the amazing Richard Kelly (Donnie Darko, Southland Tales). It is also worth mentioning that Tony Scott's direction on this film is quite good. He seems to be a bit of a hit or miss director, but no doubt, he does have some style and it shows through nicely in this film.
My original comments on Domino, around the time of its theatrical release: <blockquote>I am suddenly struck with the strong desire to see: [...]3) Domino. I know, I know. Tony Scott? MTV jumpy editing? Boom bang action? Blah blah blah? Well, I liked Man on Fire quite a bit. I don't fault Tony for choosing the route he has (a freely admitted "I'm making commercial movies") and don't see anything wrong with it either. The editing in Hombre de Fuego (tee hee!) was appropriate to my admittedly peculiar sense of aesthetics, and worked quite well. Plus, hey...how many DVDs worth of music videos do I own? I grew up on the shit and dearly love music videos--why would I hate that style of editing? And, finally: Mickey Rourke...and...TOM FUCKING WAITS. As I read Roger Ebert's (3 star!) review, I only needed to read the above name to seal my decision to see this movie. If Tom's in it, by god it will be good. (also, it was written by Richard "Donnie Darko" Kelly. And it has Mickey Rourke, as I said. Plus I thought the later trailers looked interesting..unlike that awful "DOMINO! domino DOMINO domino domino DOMINO DOMINO!" teaser....)</blockquote>
A little frenetic, admittedly (it comes from my regular journal, as well as 3 fewer years of experience with life) but it contains the essence of my interest in the film. Man on Fire is the Tony Scott film Domino bears its strongest resemblance to. The same fluttering, flashing cuts, rapidfire editing and brightening and darkening images recalled that previous film quite acutely. Certainly, Tony does not ever bother with the kind of imagery his brother Ridley does, that meticulously crafted, beautiful image. Tony aims more for the gut, a sucker punch of action and kinetic, lockstep action, his control over the pacing and action and interest of the viewer his greater talent.
Based on the actual bounty hunter of the same name, daughter of Manchurian Candidate Laurence Harvey, Keira Knightley plays Domino as a tough girl who rebels against and rejects the pampered life her mother aims to leave her with, instead choosing to become, well, a bounty hunter, under the tutelage of Ed Moseby (Mickey Rourke, based on Ed Martinez) and with the partnership of Choco (Edgar Ramirez), the two already employed by Claremont Williams III (Delroy Lindo), a bail bondsman. The plot is ridiculously intricate and twisted (I would expect no less from Richard Kelly, whose focus seems to always be on plot over characterization, as I've said of other things--method, not flaw) with backstabbings and double-crosses, coincidences and chances all moving everything inexorably toward its finish. It's not quite Guy Ritchie insanity of plot, but it's certainly not straightforward as it moves. As such, performances only stand out if they try to defy the dialogue or plotting, pushing too hard against their boundaries--as Lucy Liu (shock! surprise!) does, in a ridiculously false physicality that betrays her unusually appropriate vocal tenor and mannerism. I was pleased with her at first (considering my notorious hatred of her horribly miscast role in Kill Bill) until her motions of pencil sharpening and glass moving began to show that same artificial understanding of movement--that feel that we were seeing Lucy Liu deciding what the person who was sitting in that chair was supposed to do in that moment, rather than her character acting on it. But, of course, it was a small role and did nothing to destroy the film.
Christopher Walken's role as producer Mark Heiss was one of the beacons of humour (other than the self-effacing roles of Beverly Hills, 90210 stars Brian Austin Green and Ian Ziering as themselves), portraying the cynical view of reality television, but not without at least a note of resigned acceptance by its producers--though with an amusing touch of frustration with the realistic nature of the reality they attempted to film ("Too psychotic!"). Waits' brief role was the heart of the film, the guidance for Domino and her compatriots.
For all the fun though, something definitely doesn't quite congeal. It's not a bad film, it's rather entertaining, with nothing easy to single out as a weakness, except perhaps Tony's style--which differs very little from Man on Fire. Overlapping, overexposed images, strong grain, thick, warm colour filters--it feels too familiar, and less like it's a stylistic choice made for its relevance and more like Tony just likes it, and does not give a great amount of thought to its relevance or lack thereof--though, at the same time, it manages to show that it can fit both with a rather serious, dark film and a rather amusing, far less dark, far more upbeat and humorous one like this one, and still feel appropriate for all its inherent repetition.
loved the cast first off, the way it was shot and framed were impecible but I was alittle confused at times. I loved the way the story moved along, it didn't answer all the questions all at once, left you guessing.
too inconsistent. They tried hard to copy other movies in terms of musicand cinematography, but it was hardly good for the movie itself. Keira Knightly is also a bit overrated as actress in my opinion which shows in this movie.
Having me completely stunned and in awe, this movie is now one of my favourite movies. Domino (played by Keira Knightley) is a character that had me so intrigued that as soon as it was over I hit that play button again! Keira's performance in this movie is simply amazing...She pulled the whole "tough chick thing" (something that she was accused of faking by a guy who soon after recieved a huge punch in the nose) beautifully. She was just perfect. She really let you get to know this character through every step of the movie...pouring out her thoughts to the viewers only but never anyone in the movie. If I were the real Domino I would be very proud thats for sure! But aswell as Keira...there was amazing performances by people like Mickey Rourke and Christopher Walken and many others aswell who all just played their parts beautifully and made this film into a masterpiece.
Also...on the technical side...the camera styles used by Tony Scott were just amazing. It was a very unique style...alot appearing hand held and that combined with the great unique lighting style really made the movie even better. These fast, bumpy camera syles that were put in I think really showed us that little bit more of what the life of Domino was like- fast moving, sometimes very nerve racking, unpredictable and so many things happening one after the other. These techniques he used really got me into the story that much more.
So, all in all, this was a fantastic movie that had me so moved and in awe from start to finish. Definitely a recommendation.
plot: Based on the true story of Domino Harvey, daughter of film actor Laurence Harvey. Tired and unsuited to the pretentiousness of her high-society LA life, Domino leaves the glitterarti behind and sets off to become a bounty hunter. She quickly falls under the wing of veteran hunter Ed Mosley and his crew and becomes an unlikely natural in the art of bounty hunting. But things really heat up when a masked gang pilfer the contents of an armored car, and before long the mob, a crazed TV producer, the FBI and a terminally ill child have all got caught up in the crazy situation...
well done to Keria Knightley..she does an amazing job at portying domino harvey...she gives a fierce performance and she shows the right amount of anger and dedication in this performance...Mickey Rourke follows up his Oscar-Worthy performance in 'Sin City' with another tough-guy performance...Lucy Liu has great chemistry with Kiera Knightley in her scenes with her..
The best thing about the movie though, is the direction. Tony Scott's fast-paced style really brings the movie to life..
Overall I thought the story was entertaining and it had some laughs. The editing didn't bother me. There's also a lot of violence, mainly using guns, and blood. It could have been a little shorter..
"there is one end to every story.. we all fall down"
the frame or rather the web tony scott knitted, whether the love story or story telling or the turn it takes at the end with passionate patriotism... you'll either really love it or hate it. there is no middle opinion, there will be an extreme.
good work done...
This movie is good.Good Keira,good story.Keira played Domino Harvey so well.I love her character in this movie. But, sometimes the camera take is make my head spinning around.
excellent film. love the part of the film where keira shots wheres the video tapes and the fela replies go boom and drives off and the other vehicle booms up.
This movie was stomach-turningly bad. Kiera's gum-chewing over-acting might have elevated this drivel into "unintentional comedy" territory were it not for the ridiculous unbelievable plot, screwed-up timeline - Domino's father Laurence Harvey, a talented and highly respected actor died in 1973 so how could Domino have been 6 in 1995 - and relentless bad acting/unlikeability of every single character. Thumbs-down.
"Hey, Jerry we need a script for Tony Scott. He wants to try out some new colour filters and some of that whooshy slowy downy speedy uppy shit he likes so much. It's gonna be about a female bounty hunter." "Yeah, what's the story gonna be about?" "I dunno. A chick with a gun. Who gives a shit?" "Well, she's gotta be hot. How about that skinny chick in that Pirate movie?" "Ain't she British?" "Yeah, so what. All she's gotta do is run around shooting shit and get her hooters out once in a while. Give her some tattoos and smeared mascara while your at it. Them emo kids love that shit." "It's gonna need shoot outs. Lots of blood..." "Hey, all we gotta do is keep showing what MIGHT have happened, and we can stick in all the action we like even if it makes no sense!" "You are a f***ing genius!" "Yeah, who gives a shit about the story anyway? Nobody can tell what the f***'s going on in a Tony Scott film with all that visual shit he stuffs into it!" "We need a plot twist. That Lucky Number Slevin had about three of 'em..." "Well stick FOUR in then. What, do I gotta write this shit myself?!" "Springer's free. His agent just called me." "Great! Let's have a whole scene on the Springer show! And throw in a couple of them Beverly Hills 90120 kids in. My daughter loves that show!" "All it needs now is a couple of pop stars and some homies and we've got ourselves a winner!" "Oh, and put a couple of weird bits in it to make the artsy fartsy crowd think it's clever. And get Walken just in case. Tarantino fans'll watch any old shit with him in it." "It'll be ready in the morning. Let's do lunch. Ciao!"
I saw Domino with some friends on October 16, 2005 Interesting performances, but ultimately too cliché-ish and is predictable with too many plots and genres. The ending is especially way over the top. Actually I think it makes a better video game than a movie. A Flixster rating: 2 stars. Video game rating: B+
I just love this movie. Aside from I'M IN LOVE WITH KEIRA KNIGHTLEY, the frenetic visuals and pacing of the movie's story line were great and very appropriate. Aside from that, I really liked the underlying pseudo-profound takes on human existence that the movie effectively evoked.
This deserves cult status. It's litered with flaws, but it's shot in an "on acid" style so incomprehensibility is to be expected. It's a lot of fun and a guilty pleasure TO THE MAX.
I actually liked Keira Knightley in this movie - which is pretty good.
The movie is visually challenging at places, as is the plot between "this happened" and "oh no it didn't". But the push and pull would work really well after another watch or two, I'm sure.
All in all, the movie is a bit chaotic and crude - which works really well for this piece.
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