“Lucky Number Slevin,” which premiered April 7, is a complex movie with a fairly tidy ending. It has so far grossed over $31 million.
The movie begins in a quiet waiting room. Mr. Goodkat, played by Bruce Willis, enters and assassinates a man sitting there.
He uses the technique of a “Kansas City Shuffle,” in which you make someone look left when they should be looking right in order to catch that person undetected. The Kansas City Shuffle is referred to numerous times throughout the movie.
Slevin, played by Josh Hartnett, appears to be very unlucky at the start of the film, as he is mistaken for his absent friend, Nick Fisher. This doesn’t sound bad until it turns out that Nick Fisher owes some gangsters very large sums of money.
He is brought in from his friend’s apartment and subsequently introduced to “The Boss” (played by Morgan Freeman), and then as soon as he returns is taken again from the apartment to meet “The Rabbi,” known because of his Rabbinical background.
The Boss’ son was recently killed on a hit he believes was ordered by the Rabbi, played by Ben Kingsley.
He has a son named the Fairy, who the Boss now wants Slevin to kill for revenge. The Rabbi forcibly “hires” Slevin to kill the Boss.
Now, throughout the chaos of working for two major crime lords, Slevin manages to develop a romantic attachment to Lindsey, played by Lucy Liu, as well as attract the attention of the cops.
As the story develops, it becomes extremely apparent that there are more forces at work than simply bad luck. Mr. Goodkat emerges as the conductor of this chaotic orchestra.
By the end of the movie, each character is playing just as he wishes them to play, including the Boss and the Rabbi, each of whom seem to think they are the ones in control.
The ending comes in a neat package, tying up loose ends and delivering the truth of the matter in one scene.
The scene is meant to be dramatic, thrilling, or a great clash between the Rabbi and the Boss, but instead it become a vector for the characters to provide an explanation of the truth in a way that seems to insult the audience’s intelligence.
The ending has the feeling of the scene in “Fight Club” where the underlying and hidden truth is revealed, but it has nowhere near the psychological impact that “Fight Club” did.
“Lucky Number Slevin” is a good movie to get caught up in the plot and simply let the twists and turns take the viewer wherever necessary.
It has a “Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang”-esque feel that allows the viewer to get lost in the movie rather than attempt to figure out the ending before it comes.
Josh Hartnett’s character is perhaps downplayed more than it should be, but the vibe he gives off throughout the movie is that of “Brad Pitt-lite.”
Overall, the movie is worth seeing at least once, even if it is just for the ride.
