Capítulo 221: Chapter 221: The Dazzling Appreciation of Violence
The vertically falling raindrops and the rapidly rising virtual camera transform the entire night city into "SinCity" with a few blood-red letters, evoking loneliness, confusion, sin, a city of love and primal desires, appearing on the big screen.
Concurrent with the premiere, there are also 2,000 advance screenings across 2,000 cinemas in North America.
Murphy's past three films have garnered a certain fan base. For instance, Daisy, attending the premiere, and Louis Gonzalez, entering a cinema on Long Island with a companion. Besides Murphy, the actors also have their supporters. Although their numbers may not rival Tom Cruise's, or even come close to Catherine Zeta-Jones, actors like Robert Downey Jr., James Franco, Jessica Simpson, and Jessica Alba do have their fans, forming the base audience for these 2,000 advance screenings.
Inside the Hollywood Chinese Theatre, with its 2,200 seats packed, the ordinary audience, relegated to the rear dozen rows due to the front rows being occupied by guests and media, show no discontent. For Betsey Stino, a super fan of the "Sin City" comics, the movie is almost a perfect rendition of the comic.
The stark black and white contrasts, the camera work, the angles of lighting - many shots could stand alone as individual comic frames. The use of black in the film is rich and layered, revealing the true face of "Sin City", achieving a visual texture unattainable in color films.
Nearby, Daisy is engrossed in the film. From the moment she entered the main hall, she noticed the scarcity of women among the regular viewers, suggesting it wasn't made for a female audience. Yet, the abundance of violent scenes ignited something within her.
Since "Planet Terror," Daisy has gradually realized her unusual passion for extreme violence in movies, not just Murphy Stanton's films. Other directors, lacking Murphy's cool charm, failed to pique her interest.
Therefore, many scenes in this film easily resonate with her.
The story features the cannibalistic villain Kevin, smiling unchangingly even after being dismembered, his expression numb even when torn apart by wild dogs, the vertical rain lines, the white blood, making murder seem so common, arbitrary, and somber.
Daisy feels an extraordinary sense of violence.
In the next story, the villainous cop Jack disrupts the old city's rules, getting his hand chopped off by the female assassin Mei Hui. His stubborn resistance ends with Mei Hui mocking him, as he's shot in the forehead by his own backfiring pistol, and eventually gets his throat slit by her.
Meanwhile, lightning streaks across the rain-drenched black night sky, creating a stark visual contrast. The intense light and dark presage the stormy killings to come, casting a terrifying gloom over the old city.
To preserve the fragile truce between the cops and prostitutes and spare the girls of the old city from warfare, the inherently noble murderer Dwight then drives to dispose of bodies at an oil well.
En route, Jack's limp body in the passenger seat, hauntingly mutters Dwight's doubts and fears, his severed windpipe morbidly displayed with each jolt of the car.
This forms a horrifying image with no detailed narrative, the white blood plasma emanating from it reviving the stubborn spirit of the corrupt cop Jack, hinting at his deep-seated perversion, a pinnacle of violent aesthetics.
Bob Weinstein, Harvey Weinstein's brother, also seated in the theater, hadn't seen the complete film before. His one-word description of the movie's effect — staggering!
The screen depicts numerous illogical elements typical of regular movies: rain like white lines, Jack picking up his severed hand, and his endless babbling in Dwight's car.
Yet, this sequence is shot with immense tension.
Accompanied by Dwight's confused and bewildered narration, and the seemingly endless rain onscreen, the story escalates from Jack and Dwight's encounter to the final street battle. The narrative's pitch rises, culminating in a dramatic climax with the rattling of bullets, like a torrential downpour, unveiling the characters' inner void and sorrow.
At that moment, numerous young girls firing from rooftops bring the film's unreality and absurdity to a peak.
These scenes remind Bob of the random and bizarre violent scenes in "Kill Bill." If "Kill Bill" represented a disillusionment of morality, "Sin City" matches it in portraying the twisted, crazy nature of human existence.
The violence in the film isn't just infuriating but chilling to the bone. Jonah Hill's segment and its conclusion cause immense psychological discomfort, likely overwhelming for many female viewers.
The farmhouse he inhabits, frequently shown in the film, its basement scenes almost akin to hell. Although Murphy Stanton opts for silhouettes to avoid the goriest scenes, the uncompromising violent depiction makes this film a peak achievement post "Kill Bill."
"The stark violence and surreal details truly portray the madness of Sin City itself. The only remaining light in the dark skies of the film is the humble, hard-won love between a few male characters and their loved ones, which is also the only thing worth looking forward to."
As the film nears its end, Daisy mutters to herself.
The three stories are independent yet intertwined, all occurring in the fictitious Sin City, where cops and criminals are indistinguishable. Violence destroys and protects everything, time mixes, and everything ultimately returns to the beginning.
The first story is about Sin City.
Marv, with his hideous face and fiery temper, encounters the blonde beauty Goldie, a one-night stand providing warmth Marv has never known. Awakening, he finds Goldie murdered beside him, himself framed as the killer.
Marv, unloved due to his ugliness, had only Goldie's affection. Her assassination and the subsequent framing by the killer leave him devastated. Misunderstood by Goldie's sister Wendy, Marv, still unyieldingly seeks vengeance for his beloved.
Fueled by rage and revenge, Marv, with Wendy's help, seeks the truth behind his lover's murder...
The second story is Assassination.
Dwight, a criminal turned into a bar host's boyfriend through plastic surgery, assists his girlfriend Shelly in dealing with her troublesome ex, the violent Jack.
Jack, a dirty cop like the city itself, is followed by Dwight to Old Town, ruled by a prostitute gang. Jack's rule-breaking leads to his death at their hands, only then they discover he's a cop.
His death shatters the truce between the prostitutes and police.
Dwight, having a past with the gang leader Gail, must help them cover up the crime and protect their rights...
Old Town's rule: cops get free services at parties in exchange for the girls managing their area. They can deal with cops but must not kill them.
Jack's death plunges them into panic. Dwight, with Mei Hui's help, sees the frenzied girls fighting fiercely to protect their rights, relying only on themselves in a bloody battle.
The third story is The Yellow Bastard.
Hardigan, near retirement due to a heart condition, receives a tip in his final police hour: Senator's son Roark Jr. has kidnapped 11-year-old Nancy, a suspect in several rape-murders.
Hardigan single-handedly rescues Nancy, disabling Roark Jr. but sustaining severe
injuries himself.
In the eight years following, Roark Jr.'s senator father uses his power to imprison Hardigan, forcing him to confess to Roark Jr.'s crimes. Hardigan refuses to yield, drawing solace only from letters from Nancy, now under the alias Cordelia.
When Nancy's letters suddenly stop, Hardigan becomes anxious. He gives in, accepting parole in exchange for a guilty plea, to protect Nancy.
Unbeknownst to him, the monster 'Yellow Bastard' secretly trails him, plunging him and Nancy back into peril...
Marv kills for the only woman who loved him; Dwight fights to protect his loved ones; Hardigan even shoots himself in the head for the woman he cherishes.
These actions lack feasibility and credibility in real life. However, in an unreal society, these acts of protecting loved ones in unreal ways reveal a glimmer of humanity in a dark world.
As the film draws to a close, Tom Cruise exhales softly, returning from the movie to reality.
"Dear," whispers Penelope Cruz beside him, "it's been a while since you've watched a film so intently."
Tom Cruise smiles, shaking his head. This film is indeed unique!
How to describe this movie? A monochromatic visual feast or a dazzling display of violence?
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