Judy Thorburn's Movie Reviews
Domino
- Details
- Category: Judy Thorburn
- Published on 23 November 2008
- Written by Judy Thorburn
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KNIGHTLY PLAYS TOUGH GAME IN "DOMINO"
Keira Knightley first made an impression on U.S. audiences as the leading character’s best friend and fellow soccer player in 2002’s English surprise sleeper hit, Bend It Like Beckham. That performance led to more high profile costarring roles such as Johnny Depp’s leading lady in 2002’s Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl, and as the re-imagined, not so delicate, kick ass Guinevere in 2004’s disappointing King Arthur. With her looks, talent and audience appeal, it didn’t take too long for British bred, Knightley, a Winona Ryder lookalike, to come into her own.
For her starring role as “Domino”, which is based on the real life of high fashion model turned bounty hunter, Knightley is on the mark as a hard as nails babe with an even tougher attitude. According to Richard Kelly’s script, beneath Domino’s tough exterior was a woman who put up a protective barrier in fear of being hurt by emotional attachments. Every job brought to it a 50/50 chance to live or die, like a toss of a coin to what her destiny held.
Whether she got the real person down pat or not, Knightley is believable as a chain smoking, gun toting, no nonsense character with an agenda – eager to kick ass and get the bounty. Domino was supposedly so good at her work, that in 2003 she was proclaimed Bounty Hunter of the Year, and the woman who brought beauty and grace to the profession.
Actually, inspired would probably be a more applicable word to describe this film, since the narrative is filled with more fiction than fact. Many scenes were filmed in around Las Vegas, and as one example there is an explosive action sequence that has the top of the Stratosphere Hotel blowing up. This is totally fictional – never happened, thank goodness.
Knightley does an occasional voice over narration starting with the opening sequence that has her being interrogated in a dark room by an FBI agent (Lucy Liu) regarding her involvement in a crime. From then on Domino’s history is recounted through the use of short flashbacks. Events leading up to the interrogation: Domino’s childhood in Beverly Hills, the death of her actor father, Laurence Harvey (star of the original “Manchurian Candidate”) when she was eight, through boarding school (when she lost her prize possession that led to a vow of never getting emotionally invested again), a career as a high fashion model, and finally finding a comfortable niche as a bounty hunter, are set in place. But, there is no mention to the fact that in June 2005, the real Domino Harvey, at the age of only 35, was found dead in her apartment of an accidental drug overdose.
As for this story, if nothing else, it’s a hoot to see such an electric bunch of actors in supporting roles. Stars such as Mickey Rourke, Jacqueline Bissett, Delroy Lindo, Christopher Walken, Mena Suvari, Dabney Coleman, Mo’Nique, Tom Waits, Macy Gray each have some screen time. Plus former 90210 stars Brian Austin Green and Ian Ziering play themselves while poking fun at their TV personas.
Mickey Rourke continues his comeback in a role that suits him to a T. Years of self-abuse and bad behavior have taken a toll on Rourke’s once handsome, sexy face and body. Nevertheless, his now worn, lived hard and fast appearance, blended with raw acting talent makes him perfectly cast as Domino’s boss, the “father she never had”, Ed Mosbey (based on real life Zeke Unger), a legendary bounty hunter who taught her the ropes.
Newcomer Edgar Rodriquez adds some spicy latin flavor to the mix with his look of wild haired, sexy and dangerous bad boy. He plays Hispanic, English speaking bounty hunter Choco, who will only talk in Spanish when around women. As far as I am concerned, he’s hot in any language.
To get to the bottom of why Domino is being questioned by the FBI, we must try to follow a complex plot that goes back and forth. It involves a multi million dollar heist, a black woman who works at the DMV and her girl friends, counterfeit ID’s, the bail bondsman, an Afghani driver, the owner of the Stratosphere Hotel in Las Vegas, the Mob, etc. etc. Throw in a reality TV producer (Walken, as kooky as ever) following the bounty hunters around with cameras for a show called Bounty Squad, and a Jerry Springer Show segment about mixed races centering on Lateesha (Mo’Nique), the world’s youngest mixed race grandmother who calls herself a blacktino. I’ll admit there are some humorous moments, with oddball, quirky characters. But, there are too many characters, double crosses, lies, and misconceptions that it’s easy to get lost.
It doesn’t help that director Tony Scott (Man on Fire, Enemy of the State, Spy Game) employs a grainy look with frenetic camera work. While some may view this as an artsy filmmaking style, I see it as annoying, headache inducing visuals.
Essentially, the film winds up being a vehicle that exploits and embellishes Domino and her life as a bounty hunter, strictly as a subject for action movie purposes only.
All in all, I would still recommend the film for Keira Knightly’s performance alone. She is dynamite in this role, and so into the character that she’s great to watch. Without her, all the pieces of the film would fall apart like dominos.