Love makes the men of Sin City go to murderous extremes.
As Frank Miller’s Sin City truly is the Pulp Fiction of comic-book adaptation, what does this mean for these knights in dirty trench coats and the damsels in distress they’re willing to kill for?
Rosario Dawson
The Bottom Line: Dawson‘s always glows in ambitious character studies, such as 25th Hour and Shattered Glass. But she also gravitates to big-budget stinkers that die a quick death. Pluto Nash? Alexander? What was she thinking? Sin City, though, reveals another side to Dawson: hard-ass action doll. Tarted up in leather and chains, Dawson possesses enough moves and attitude to take down Charlie’s Angels all at once. After singing for her supper in Rent, Dawson should seriously consider trying to pin down her own Kill Bill-style franchise.
Mickey Rourke
The Bottom Line: If there’s any justice in Sin City–or at least in Hollywood–the onetime Johnny
Handsome will receive an Oscar nomination for his heartbreaking portrayal of natural born killer
Marv. Once tipped for De Niro-eseque greatness, Rourke essentially gave up on acting the second
he climbed into the boxing ring under the misguided belief he could be a contender. Not so, and one
too many punches to the face devastated his broody good looks and forced him to toil for years in
direct-to-DVD dreck. But he rebounded with Spun, in which he gave a seriously loopy but
undeniably mesmerizing performance as a meth-making dealer just as messed up as his clients. With
his own beat-up mug buried beneath finely chiseled prosthetic makeup, Rourke makes Sin City‘s Marv a richly complex and wholly sympathetic force of vengeance. Remember how Pulp
Fiction revived John Travolta‘s career? Sin City will do the same for Rourke, though it’s too
late for him to salvage his career as leading man. But at least more A-list directors like Sin City‘s Robert Rodriguez and Tony Scott (of Rourke‘s upcoming Domino) should be willing to take a chance and cast the retired pugilist in knockout supporting roles.
Jessica Alba
The Bottom Line: TV’s Dark Angel sheds her wings and shakes her moneymaker as the sexy Sin City stripper with the hots for good cop Bruce Willis. We know this Honey can get low with it. With Sin City, though, Alba had the perfect opportunity to flash more than her flesh. Too bad she’s awfully wishy-washy as the kidnap victim forced to relive her terrible ordeal. Neither this summer’s Fantastic Four or Into the Blue, in which Alba‘s running around invisible or in revealing bikinis, will likely test her acting abilities. So talk about a lost opportunity. If Alba couldn’t make it in Sin City, who knows where she can make it.
Bruce Willis
The Bottom Line: Hostage is not doing Die Hard-like business, but Sin City may give Willis pause to immediately yippie-kay-ay his way through a fourth John McClane adventure (see The Bottom Line, March 4). Being bound and gagged in Pulp Fiction wiped the smirk off Willis‘ face and gave him the credibility he desperately needed post-Moonlighting. As the last honest cop in Sin City, Willis‘ John Hartigan also is left a bloody, broken mess. Between beatings and shootings, though, Willis reminds us how strong and intense an actor he can be when he’s not trapped in dubious ventures designed to reverse his declining fortunes. Hopefully he’ll carry this over to his upcoming slew of mainstream and art house offerings, Lucky Slevin, Alpha Dog, 16 Blocks and Solace.
Brittany Murphy
The Bottom Line: At long last Murphy takes a break from the inane comedies she’s thrown herself into since rapping ecstatically with Eminem in 8 Mile. Judging by Sin City, Murphy‘s wasting her time locking locks with the likes of Just Married‘s Ashton Kutcher and Uptown Girls‘ Dakota Fanning. In Sin City, Clive Owen and Benicio Del Toro fight for the affections of her scared but quick-thinking waitress. And she responds by successfully harnessing the nervous energy that fuel–and so often render unbearable–her performances. Perhaps it’s taken a trip to Sin City to make us realize that, in small doses, Murphy can be a pleasure to watch.
Clive Owen
The Bottom Line: Let’s forget all that chatter and speculation about the fierce and furious Owen being the next James Bond. Sure, King Arthur was a hit everywhere except here, but Closer
earned Owen a well-deserved Oscar nomination and finally made us forget those BMW commercials.
In Sin City, Owen once again is the very definition of righteous indignation. As Dwight, he’s
cool, calm and collected as he gets his hands dirty defending his girlfriend’s honor. And Sin City will likely give Owen his biggest audience since The Bourne Identity, which will only benefit
his upcoming Derailed, costarring Jennifer Aniston. Would Owen make a worthy 007? Yes. But
with the heat from Closer and Sin City, Owen doesn’t need a license to kill to guarantee
his status as one of England’s hottest import.
