Domino Review

"Domino" reviews

Movie

Domino

Author

anonymous

Date reviewed

2006-02-21 12:26:28

Rating

2.5/5

Provider

CinemaSource

Review

Loosely based on the life of Domino Harvey, a girl who rejected a privileged lifestyle to become a bounty hunter, the highly stylized Domino is long and convoluted. But it's also fairly compelling.

Story

As the daughter of a famous British actor and socialite mom, Domino's story really isn't anything we haven't heard before; she's the little rich girl who rebels against her pampered upbringing. But it's the way in which Domino (Keira Knightley) rebels that makes it fascinating. Bounty hunting? What could be further away from champagne wishes and caviar dreams than that? With a shotgun in her hand, the job is just what the adrenaline junkie needs. Along with her for the ride is her fellow adventurers, veteran hunter Ed (Mickey Rourke) and wild-card Choco (Edgar Ramirez), who become her new family. But, of course, it can't all be fun and games. One job goes bad and suddenly everything turns into a bloody mess.

Acting

Knightley may reinvent her look--wear blue paint (King Arthur), put on a corset (Pirates of the Caribbean)--but she's still basically playing the same spitfire in all her movies. And, as Domino, she spits with the best of them; it's not much of a stretch. Right next to her is Rourke, who's having a great year with this and Sin City. As the grizzled Ed, the actor does what he does best--play someone hardened by life who can still be vulnerable and appreciate the finer things in life. The real find in Domino is Ramirez. The Venezuelan actor, making his American debut, simply smolders as the tortured Choco, whose feelings for Domino run way deep--deep enough to blow someone's arm off. Don't ask.

Direction

Director Tony Scott (Man on Fire) became fascinated with Domino--the daughter of British actor Laurence Harvey--10 years ago when he met her and hatched a plan to turn her life into a movie. Little did he know he'd become a surrogate father, trying to steer her from a self-destructive path, to no avail. In June, the real-life Domino was found dead of an apparent overdose of painkillers. Although Domino had already wrapped, this last bit of irony taints the film, which takes many liberties with real events. Scott grabs you at first with a dark, moody and inventive tone, but then all the fancy camerawork starts to grate, especially in the last chapter when all goes awry. Then it just tries too hard to be twisty and cool.

Bottom Line

Domino is definitely a troubled film. It's muddled and too hip for its own good. But the true story behind Domino Harvey's life is a fascinating character study nonetheless.

Movie

DOMINO

Author

anonymous

Date reviewed

2005-10-25 21:09:37

Provider

Review

Keira Knightly returns to the big screen with her second feature in as many weeks, swapping the beautiful countryside and a breast-busting corset for a cropped haircut and a round of machine gun bullets.

It's the story of the real-life Domino Harvey, one time Hollywood princess turned bounty hunter. Director Tony Scott, who has known the real Domino since she was 20, waited ten years to bring the film to our cinemas – and delivers a true-ish tale, that avoids telling us exactly how it was. Scott picks up the story when an eight-year-old Domino loses her father, famed actor Lawrence Harvey, and starts rebelling against her former model of a mother. Leaving behind a destructive stint at boarding school, a split second career as a runway model and a dalliance with the fashion business, Domino saw that she needed something more for herself, some excitement. Meeting an ex-con-come bounty hunter should do it. In short, Domino takes a crash course in killing and becomes one third of a successful gang who take out people for cash. A strange twist in events leads to the gang being the subject of a TV reality series. Not your average season of Big Brother however, and once the cameras turn on Domino her life gets a bit out of control. Can it really get more so? As the film is 'loosely' based on the truth we have to believe it. The team spend the rest of the film running around chasing money and men that have disappeared while being chased themselves by the FBI and the Mafia.

Domino features a whole KFC bucket of well known supporting actors to Keighley's starring role. None more so than Mickey Rourke, Edgar Ramirez, Jacqueline Bisset, Christopher Walken, Mena Suvari and Lucy Liu. All of which turn in a decent enough performances. Knightly, even at the tender age of 20, is certainly racking up the films and just about gets away with the physical nature of this role. In a recent interview she admitted to not feeling comfortable with guns and that's clear for a paying audience to see. However, despite messy sub plots Scott just about gets away with it thanks to his customary mix of tongue-in-cheek humour coupled with gritty action. Just don't forget to spend a penny before you go in as this is one long and occasionally complicated movie.