Revolver
This curious fourth film from Guy Ritchie returns the writer-director to familiar gangster territory following his disastrous remake of Swept Away, which starred Ritchie’s wife, Madonna. Jason Statham, a Ritchie regular, stars as an ex-convict named Jake Green, whose strategy for bankrupting a casino owner/crime boss named Macha (Ray Liotta)--whom Jake holds responsible for his incarceration--results in Macha ordering him killed. Enter a pair of other criminals (Vincent Pastore, Andre Benjamin) with a plan of their own, preventing the hit on Jake but telling him he has a fast-acting disease that will soon take its toll. From there, an increasingly convoluted gangster tale becomes a fascinating if often silly movie about Jake’s descent into possible madness while he simultaneously ponders the art of defeating one’s enemies and communing with God. Ritchie is indeed in a serious vein, but he doesn’t hold back on his unique sense of stylish fun, outfitting each character with memorable dialogue and behavioral traits. Standing out in a crowded pack of colorful underworld types is Liotta’s villain, who sympathetically conveys an all-too-human level of despair while wearing eyeliner and bikini underwear. The film becomes wearing after a while: Ritchie might be less interested in the crime genre than he once was. But there are plenty of fresh ideas here, even if they don’t always fit perfectly together the way Ritchie’s catchy debut, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, did. --Tom Keogh
