|
|
Walter Hill's bluesy, melancholic crime thriller Johnny Handsome is a grimy concoction of violent heists and brutal shootouts held together by a character study of facially deformed career criminal John Sedley (Mickey Rourke). Sedley, looking like a cross between the elephant man and an orc, is a withdrawn, awkward outsider whose only success has been in illegal activities. Him and his partner (Scott Wilson) hook up with evil pair of dirtbags Rafé Garett (Lance Henriksen) and Sunny Boyd (Ellen Barkin) to pull off a jewelry store job. They get double crossed by the no good shitheels, his partner winds up dead, and Johnny gets caught. As part of an experimental program, Johnny undergoes a procedure to have his face altered to look normal. It's a success, and with a new face, Johnny gets parole, a legit job and begins to start anew. However, the bloody betrayal still haunts him, and slowly he starts to want revenge. This film lives in the snappy world of garish, larger than life criminals and hard nosed, mean spirited cops, a heightened, slimy version of the action genre that Hill delivers like the pro he is. Moody blues, smoky, detritus stained alleyways and the ever present vibe of the seedy side of New Orleans permeate every alcove of this piece, giving it a distinct, off noir flavor. Rourke nails the transformation from out casted freak into alpha dog slick tough guy like a caterpillar emerging from its cocoon, making us feel for Johnny despite his sordid lifestyle. Henriksen is a preening, sickening monster as street rat Garrett, a high strung, sadistic degenerate that will shoot his mother in the face if he thought he'd get a dollar and a smoke out of it. Barkin is a snake, oozing sluttiness and petulant, psychotic damaged goods charm from every whiny drawl and coy little grimace, the ultimate bad girl. Morgan Freeman turns up in a rare tough guy turn, as A.Z. Drones, the uptight cop who sees nothing but trash in Johnny and has no hope for any change. Freeman's reaction to Johnny's new face is one of sarcastic, stunned hilarity and is a career best scene from him. Forest Whitaker makes an appearance as the sympathetic doctor in charge of the operation, and Elizabeth Mcgovernn is a welcome breath of fresh air from the greasy rogues gallery, as a nice girl he meets at his legit job. This gritty yarn waltzes in straight from a dime store novella, and Hill knows how to guide it just this side of silly, with just the right amount of cheeky pulp, grounded writing, rambunctious, blood soaked shootouts, and well, bold drawn characterizations.
score 9/10
NateWatchesCoolMovies 24 August 2015
Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw3304363/ |
|
18-3-2021 00:07:21