Calibre 45

Based on other user's comments, the raw emotion and grit present throughout this film might be too much for some, but for me it added an entirely new dimension to the story that really helped draw me into the harsh reality that these characters live in.

I was truly impressed with Milla's performance as "Kate" and I was pleasantly surprised to see her outside of a movie laden with kung-fu, guns and monsters and instead see her in a wonderfully directed and extremely well written film.

While I've only seen Angus Macfadyen on screen a handful of times, he completely blew me away as "Big Al". He plays one of the most powerful, controlling and abusive characters I've ever seen on screen, yet he's still very much human.

There's something about Gary Lennon's writing that really helps you understand these characters and the reality they live in, no matter how dysfunctional and messed up they may be.

Overall, .45 is an amazing debut for writer/director Gary Lennon, full of brilliant acting and an enthralling story. Highly recommended!

This movie although not without it's merits struggles with identity-issues, at times it appears to be a dark comedy, others a serious drama and occasionally a thriller and it goes back and forth like that in tone without much rhyme or reason.

There is also a bundle of (fake) interviews intertwined between the scenes with some of the characters (and some family members to them) talking about each other in various aspects (the movie starts off by Milla Jovovich's character talking about how big Angus McFayden's character is in his pants in great detail).

It does have some very good scenes separately (as well as some very bad ones) but together they don't always flow that well together, and one struggles to 'like' any of the characters and when you start to 'like' someone it's just because there's another character who's seemingly worse than them not that they are particularly likable or anything.

But yeah overall, if you're a massive Milla Jovovich or Angus McFayden fan I suppose you might like it, Stephen Dorff who was the in-ital drawing point of mine to the movie has about 25 minutes of screen-time (possibly less) and it's not one of his better performances albeit just like the movie not completely terrible.

.45 stars Milla Jovovich as Kat, a girl who grows tired of being beaten by her boyfriend, big Al, a gun dealer and low life in general. She finally works up the courage to leave him and befriends Liz(Aisha Tyler), a counselor at a women's shelter.

Another woman, Vic(Sarah Strange) also tries to help Kat and is in love with her in a romantic way.

The final piece of the puzzle is Reilly(Stephen Dorff), another criminal who is a partner of big Al's and like everyone else, lusts for the sexy Kat. He tells her to get revenge on her former lover by killing him.

Kat must make a big decision as to whether or not do away with Al forever or just go along her merry way.

New York City is the backdrop for .45 and it works well, as usual, for a street crime drama. Milla Jovovich is convincing as the gun moll, Kat, and the story is interesting enough for a rating of 7.

Fantastic acting -- great plot twists. All the performances are outstanding, but Milla Jovanavich in particular should have been nominated for an Oscar. The fight in the apartment is unforgettable. This is a look at an underbelly of New York you don't often (if ever) see on screen. This is not a glamorized Hollywood look at crime. The characters seem disturbingly real, and the potential for violence to erupt at any moment keeps the movie feeling tense throughout. "Honest" might be the best word to describe the writing and the performances. Very raw and powerful. It will leave you thinking about it for a long time afterward. Highly recommended.

Rich characters! Each character had a life a back story that I got to know enough of about. Usually I'm annoyed by narrative, it takes me out of the movie, but they weren't distracting at all. They were funny and smart and it was a creative way to get insight about the character instead of 'telling' dialog, which can get tedious. Love watching little films with a lot of everything: raw grit, action and heart. Milla was great, never seen her that emotional and focused. This was a 3-d performance for her. Read Gary Lenon's credits- good stuff for a directorial debut. He made efficient choices that tell the story. It's hard to do that the first time around. Didn't know Aisha Tyler was in it, another pleasant surprise. Her performance was subtle. The cast was authentic Big Al owned the role! I really liked this one.