The Limey
Review by Paul Preston
Welcome to Today I Watched…, a series of posts documenting my new challenge – watch a movie a day for the rest of my life. Keep coming back to TheMovieGuys.net to find out what I watch each day…and get my take on it.
When I see a movie that’s a new release in theaters or for home viewing, I’ll give it a proper review in the “Reviews”, otherwise, I’ll write about it here.
March 30, 2017 – Pigskin
I don’t know why I can’t get in front of a great short film. Pigskin is another film that is made with high competence – looks sharp, well-acted and paced nicely, but the narrative is cloudy at best. The description is “a high school cheerleader who accepts a date with the quarterback and is subsequently plagued by a nightmarish manifestation of her own bodily insecurities.” I wouldn’t have gotten that from the film itself. The manifestation is just a tall, skinny, weird-looking dude. I thought there was a real chance to address self-body shaming and perhaps have the entity plaguing her really be made up of the things that make up her negative body image, but instead the result is muddy (and bloody).
March 31, 2017 – The Discovery – catch the review of this Sundance entry now on Netflix at the HOME VIEWING category of TheMovieGuys.net.
April 1, 2017 – Let Go
This is probably the best short film I’ve seen in a while, but it is a total and complete downer. Claudia Ferri gives an intense performance as a mother wracked with grief after losing her daughter. In the wake of this tragedy, her son continues to see and interact with his sister, leading the mother to…do something about it. It’s another good-looking short, the higher end of short films nowadays harness well the cinematography and editing of a good feature, but you’re going down an unpleasant road with Let Go. If you can’t take the uncomfortability, at least it’s short.
April 2, 2017 – The Limey
Say it ain’t so, Steven! Steven Soderbergh, one of our most interesting directors, has hinted at retiring for a long time now. One of those KISS or Cher retirement announcements that goes on for a decade (or decades). On his way out, however, Soderbergh went on a content tear, directing five movies in two years’ time – Contagion, Haywire, Magic Mike, Side Effects & Behind the Candelabra. Since 2013, he’s directed episodes of The Knick, but really, who has Cinemax? So, I was missing him and wanted to go back to take in one of his supposedly great mid-career movies. Ain’t no “supposedly” about it, The Limey is outstanding.
Terence Stamp plays Wilson (you read that right – General F-ing ZOD, another in a long line of casting coups Soderbergh is known for), a British criminal who’s come to the states to determine his daughter’s cause of death (and the people behind it). Badassery of the highest order ensues. And Soderbergh delivers the tough guy entanglements with stylish and distinctive filmmaking.
Further research (and conversation with my friend Mike) yielded a whole bunch of interesting things about The Limey. First of all, the editing style is unique. Soderbergh and editor Sarah Flack tell the narrative by laying dialogue and sound effects from scenes over future and past scenes, creating a jumble of thoughts for the viewer to take in at once. The result keeps you on your toes and when a line of dialogue or shot you heard early in the film suddenly has real resonance, the full effect of the style really hits you. Apparently after shooting, Soderbergh ended up with a film that was dull when told straightforwardly, so his post team went to work and mixed up the chronology and the result is not boring at all. When the action kicks in and Wilson gets to work facing down some of the guys who did his daughter wrong, the editing wisely reverts to a straightforward storytelling. This back and forth between the two styles works well, and it’s a testament to Soderbergh to look at his project and continue to DIRECT it after it was well into post (a characteristic sadly missing from many big directors today).
Secondly, there are flashbacks to a young Wilson, showing his life as a father and as a burgeoning criminal. The actor playing young Wilson is so reminiscent of Terence Stamp, I had to find out if it was. Turns out the footage is from an old Ken Loach film called Poor Cow, masterfully interwoven with The Limey to tell Wilson’s story.
The Limey followed the release of Out of Sight and was followed by Erin Brockovich, Traffic and Ocean’s Eleven. It was right in the middle of the salad days of Soderbergh. But if you’re like me and you want him back, fear not! All this research also revealed a little something called Logan Lucky, a NEW Soderbergh-directed feature film set for release this August, starring Channing Tatum and Daniel Craig. This might be a good time to go back and watch Schizopolis.
Directed by: Steven Soderbergh
Release Date: August 4, 1999
Run Time: 89 Minutes
Country: USA
Rated: R
Distributor: Artisan Entertainment
