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"The
Hard 'Way'"
by Scott Mantz
"The Way of the Gun"
Ryan Phillippe,
Benicio Del Toro
Directed by Christopher McQuarrie
Lately it seems
like first-time directors with something to prove usually focus
on violence as a way to do it. The Coen brothers added their quirky
touch to the film noir thriller "Blood Simple," while Quentin Tarantino
went for the buckets-of-blood approach in 1992's "Reservoir Dogs."
Now Christopher McQuarrie, the Oscar-winning screenwriter who dared
to ask "who is Keyser Soze" with "The Usual Suspects," steps behind
the camera for the first time with the ultra-intense "The Way of
the Gun." While the film falls short of being another "Suspects,"
it still stands on its own right as an above-average moviegoing
experience.
Parker (Ryan
Phillippe) and Longbaugh (Benicio Del Toro) are petty crooks who
travel from one town to the next and live pay-theft to pay-theft.
They hit the jackpot when they kidnap Robin (Juliette Lewis), a
surrogate mother whose impending delivery is anxiously awaited by
wealthy parents-to-be. The kidnapping doesn't go as expected, and
they discover that the parents are actually connected to the mob.
Parker and Longbaugh hold Robin for ransom in a seedy Mexican motel,
where they attempt to hold off a group of modern-day gunslingers
who want the baby back unharmed.
If "Butch Cassidy
and the Sundance Kid" had been directed by Quentin Tarantino, then
"The Way of the Gun" might have been the likely result. The film
is filled with the same stomach-churning violence that Tarantino
made famous, and it climaxes with a "Cassidy"-style gunfight to
the death. The script is full of the same plot twists and turns
that defined "The Usual Suspects," and while it doesn't take too
much effort to see what's on the other side of those turns, it still
comes across as an effective, engaging, and intensely-paced film.
Benicio Del
Toro adds yet another seedy role to a quirky resume that includes
the aforementioned "Suspects," "Swimming With Sharks," and "Fear
and Loathing in Las Vegas." For a character who has no motivation
beyond staying alive and scoring his next payday, he comes across
cool enough that you just can't help but root for him. In some ways,
his character recalls some of the grittier roles that Brad Pitt
played in films like "Kalifornia" and "Fight Club." Ryan Phillippe
plays Del Toro's partner-in-crime in a more ruthless role, as he
tries to hide his boyish face under a steady growth of facial hair
(nice try).
James Caan shows
up halfway through the film as the colleague to the parents who
tries to end the conflict before it gets ugly, and his understated
and strong performance adds an excellent backbone to the film. In
one of the film's more rewarding moments, Caan confronts Del Toro
in a scene that could easily have been inspired by the brief-but-powerful
DeNiro-Pacino confrontation in "Heat." They develop a mutual respect
for each other, but when push comes to shove, they both know that
only one of them can survive.
"The Way of
the Gun" represents a fine return to form for Juliette Lewis, who
embraces the sympathetic oddball style that defined her earlier
work. Rounding off the cast are Nicky Katt and Taye Diggs, who play
the impeccably-dressed hitmen who will stop at nothing to get the
baby back, regardless of what may happen to Lewis.
By and large,
the real focus here is on the guns. Not since "Heat" has a film
featured such dead-on, graphic, turned-up-to-the-max gunfights that
are sure to puncture your eardrums. Then again, that's the whole
point. This is a no-holds-barred look at criminals who make no apologies
about being criminals, and "The Way of the Gun" is the cinematic
equivalent to staring down the barrel of a shotgun.
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