The Limey

In style, Steve Soderbergh's "The Limey" harks back to the days of freeform French, Italian and British filmmaking of the 1960's, utilizing many of the techniques that at the time were groundbreaking and innovative: the fragmentation of the time sequence, heavy reliance on jarring jumpcuts, the employment of near-subliminal quick cuts to indicate memory and anticipatory imaginings and a pronounced use of the handheld camera to generate a sense of pseudo-documentary realism. This throwback in style is more than appropriate because Soderbergh's film is drenched in a '60's sensibility, from the use of many of the stars of the period in both major and minor roles to the actual employment of scenes from 1967's "Poor Cow" to function as memories for the main character played by the star of both films, Terrance Stamp.

All the above elements make "The Limey" a quite unusual and, perhaps, even unique film of sorts. But I am afraid that this over reliance on technique does come with a price: the film, as a whole, becomes much more of an "exercise" than a fully engaging narrative, partly because the visual distractions keep distancing the audience from the story and characters that should be our focus. Stamp is brilliant as the British ex-con bent on avenging the death of his daughter in the alien world of Los Angeles - and, perhaps, the sense of dislocation caused by the obtrusive cinematic stylings is meant to reflect the similar state of Wilson's mind. That still doesn't excuse the surprising banality of much of the dialogue and the less-than-stellar performances from an otherwise noteworthy cast. Peter Fonda and Barry Newman both miss the mark in their roles as a successful record producer and his loyal bodyguard. Neither their performances nor their dialogue ring true.

"The Limey" seems to have more on its mind than just being a conventional crime revenge melodrama. Yet, do we really know much more about Wilson at the end of the film than at the beginning? Maybe it just becomes difficult to be greatly moved by a film that wants to be an elegy for a character we are given no real reason to admire. Thus, despite Stamp's marvelous performance and the impressive style of much of the film, "The Limey" doesn't add up to much in the long run.

A thrilling and suspenseful movie about a thief ex-convict called Wilosn (Terence Stamp) who sets out to find the man he considers responsible for his daughter's death. However , he quickly finds that he is completely out of place with no understanding of the culture he finds . Wilson is a Cockney career criminal who gets out a Brit prison and immediately flies to L. A. and in his investigations is helped by another ex-con (Luis Guzman) . Together they learn that his daughter (Melissa George) had been having an affair with a record producer (Peter Fonda) , who is presently in love with another young woman (Amelia Henlie) . Investigations lead him to surprise the locals not only with his rhyming slang , but with his hard-man resilience , witty and ingenuity . Moreover , an aging actress (Lesley Ann Warren) helps him , as well. Vengeance knows no boundaries !. Tell Him I'm coming !.

There's so much going for this movie with vastly separate lives of two veteran outlaw men : ageing Terence Stamp and Peter Fonda , colliding in an interweaving story of killings , revenge , violence and redemption , being well written by screenwriter Lem Dobbs . Stirring , fun and as effortlessly assured , in its own relativity short budget way , as ¨out of Sight¨, this consistly attractive, imaginatively comic film milks the fish-out-water formula for all it is worthwhile , and anything else . Adding colorful images and enjoyable soundtrack by Cliff Martinez that are perfectly in keeping with the light , relaxed mood . The performances are all terrific , while director Soderbergh seemingly effortless mastery of his medium goes from strength to strength , while stories cross and collide . Sixties icons Terence Stamp and Peter Fonda show that age has not whitered their performance chops in this vengeance thriller in which an extremely volatile ex-convict investigates the death of his daughter learning she was involved with self-important record producer . Soderbergh's flashblack sequences make use of footage Ken Loach's 1967 movie ¨Poor Cow¨ which featured Stamp as a young thief named Wilson along with Carol White . Main cast is frankly well and it's given sterling support cast . Terence Stamp gives a nice acting as an ex-con , fresh out of prison , goes to L. A. to try to learn who murdered his daughter . While Peter Fonda is fine as a mobster who has an obvious fondness for young girls . They're well accompanied by good secondaries with plenty of familiar faces , such as : Lesley Ann Warren , Luis Guzmán , Barry Newman , Joe Dallesandro , Nicky Katt , Amelia Heinle , Melissa George , William Lucking , among others.

The picture was well photographed by cameraman Edward Lachman and competently directed by Steven Soderbergh , the result is a strong entry for thriller buffs . Soderbergh's customary playfulness with the narrative deftly underlines his ordinary trademarks. Soderbergh made such films as Kafka (1991), King of the Hill (1993), The Underneath (1995) and Gray's Anatomy (1996), which many believed to be disappointments. In 1998, Soderbergh made Out of sight (1998) , his most critically and commercially successful film since Sex, Lies, and Videotape (1989). Then, in 2000, Soderbergh directed two major motion pictures that are now his most successful films to date : Erin Brockovich (2000) and Traffic (2000). These films were both nominated for Best Picture Oscars at the 2001 Academy Awards and gave him the first twin director Oscar nomination in almost 60 years and the first ever win. He won the Oscar for Best Director for Traffic (2000) at the 2001 Oscars . Rating : 6.5/10 . Notable , better than average , well worth watching.

Soderbergh is a really odd director. His movies have run the gamut from the wacky, self indulgent surrealism of 'Schizopolis' to the pandering, sell-out mediocrity of 'Ellen Brockovich'. He's really hard to get a handle on. 'Out Of Sight' was stylish with an outstanding cast but left me cold. 'Traffic' featured a handful of great performances, most notably Benicio Del Toro's, but was overall simplistic, unconvincing and cliched. For my money his strongest achievements to date have been his overlooked noir-ish 'Underneath', and this, his involving revenge drama 'The Limey'.

Terrence Stamp, a fine actor who has appeared in more than his fair share of bad movies, really takes this role and runs with it. He radiates dignity and power as Wilson, the English career criminal out to avenge the death of his estranged daughter. My only problem with his performance, and the movie as a whole, is his Cockney accent, which borders on caricature. If you can get over that hurdle you'll be impressed by the depth of his performance.

Peter Fonda, who has never impressed me much as an actor in the past (not even his much lauded role in the overrated 'Ulee's Gold'), is also fine as the sleazy record producer who Wilson suspects of wrongdoing. Stamp and Fonda obviously relish playing these characters, and their chemistry together is the cornerstone of the movie. Both actors are supported by an impressive array of old and new faces - including a surprisingly effective Lesley Anne Warren (her best since 'Cop'), the always watchable Luis Guzman ('Boogie Nights', 'Carlito's Way', etc.), blasts from the pasts Barry Newman (cult classic 'Vanishing Point') and Joe Dallessandro (former Warhol superstar), and future star in the making Nicky Katt ('Strange Days', 'SubUrbia').

Soderbergh cleverly uses footage from Ken Loach's kitchen sink drama 'Poor Cow' for flashbacks, and plays upon Stamp and Fonda's 60s screen personas, but the film is no exercise in mere nostalgia. 'The Limey' is a rarity in Hollywood these days - an intelligent, thoughtful, well crafted and acted adult movie. I liked it a lot.

Wilson (Terence Stamp) gets out of prison and goes to L.A. Eduardo Roel (Luis Guzmán) had sent him news that his daughter Jenny Wilson (Melissa George) is dead. His is convinced that her music producer boyfriend Terry Valentine (Peter Fonda) is responsible. Valentine was involved in a drug deal which he is now trying to hide and presently has a young girlfriend Adhara (Amelia Heinle). Elaine (Lesley Ann Warren) was once a famous actress and a mentor to Jenny. Valentine's right hand man Jim Avery (Barry Newman) hires Stacy (Nicky Katt) to kill Wilson.

Soderbergh is trying his disjointed editing style and a bit of shaky camera work. The style is really fascinating for awhile but it becomes more of a gimmick later on. It overwhelms anything happening in the story and takes away some of the tension. Even the dialog becomes secondary. I really like the use of the old movie but even that has diminishing returns. He's done this in the past like in 'Out of Sight' but it wasn't quite as pervasive. Terence Stamp has terrific menace. He's able to maintain the tension and there is a nice payoff at the end.

The `revenge story' is a pretty overdone plot device, so when a film comes along that employs this theme and still remains fresh and compelling, it is safe to say that is a truly good film. Steven Soderbergh's `The Limey' is able to do just that. In `The Limey', Terrence Stamp plays Wilson, a career criminal who, upon being released from prison in England, finds out that his estranged daughter has died (or perhaps been murdered) in Los Angeles. Wilson's mission is to find out what happened to her, and prescribe his own brand of justice on the man behind her death.

Soderbergh's direction in `The Limey' is superb. While I enjoy and admire most of his filmography, I was so enamored with his second film, the barely-seen, highly acclaimed `Kafka' for its originality, its daring style and intellectual feel, that films like `Oceans Eleven' and `Erin Brockovich', while quite good, didn't reflect what I felt was to be his true maverick style. Seeing `The Limey', made before `Erin Brockovich' and shortly a couple of years after `Kafka', I was happy to see that he kind of held on to that spirit (for lack of a better expression) for one more film before producing more commercial fare. `The Limey' is told in a very non-linear style, and not even as clearly delineated as say, `Pulp Fiction' was; rather it is flashbacks and real-time events expressed by fluttering scenes and an almost wispy presentation. Soderbergh also employs scenes from one of Terrence Stamp's films from the 1960's for some flashbacks, a thoroughly brilliant and creative tactic.

Terrence Stamp certainly deserves mention for his performance as Wilson. Whether seeing him as General Zod in `Superman II' or as the drag queen Bernadette in `The Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert' he is a true badass. Watching him chase after Peter Fonda in `The Limey' was like watching a reincarnation of Yul Brunner in `Westworld'; he just never let up. Anyone who would get in his way were pretty much toast, but it was all so coldly done that it was almost clinical – just by the hard and distant expression on Wilson's face you know that all of these people were incidental and he wouldn't receive any pleasure until he comes face to face with his nemesis; and even then, it's possibly more of a duty than a pleasure.

Check out this film – you won't regret it. However, if you're expecting a film with the same kind of commercial tone as say, `Oceans Eleven' you may be in for a surprise, albeit, in this viewer's opinion, a pleasant one.

--Shelly