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The Wrong Man
director: Paul McGuigan
country: USA
release: 09.11.06
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rated: 3/5
review date: 06/11/2006
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cast: Bruce Willis, Josh Hartnett, Morgan Freeman, Lucy Liu
Filled with hard-boiled dialogue, more twists and turns than the proverbial cheese snack, and a raft of eccentric and entertaining characters, you might be forgiven for thinking The Wrong Man was a Quentin Tarantino movie - or an adaptation of an Elmore Leonard novel.
It's neither. The Wrong Man (aka Lucky Number Slevin) is a surprisingly enjoyable crime thriller from an original script by a young and very energetic writer Jason Smilovic, and directed by Scottish filmmaker Paul McGuigan, best-known for stylised UK comedies The Acid House (1998) and Gangster No. 1 (2000). It also boasts a huge Hollywood cast including Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, Sir Ben Kingsley, Lucy Liu and 2006's one to watch Josh Hartnett, who gets this year’s award for spending the most time on screen in a state of semi-undress… (How he manages to keep his towel on while being bashed so many times is a miracle of modern filmmaking).
The Wrong Man is film about a case of mistaken identity. Hartnett plays Slevin, a fella who’s having one bad day, mistaken for his best friend Nick who’s apparently in debt up to his eyeballs to the wrong people. Willis is the hitman hired to kill Nick/Slevin, with Lucy Liu as Lindsay, the girl next door trying to help poor Slevin out of his predicament. Morgan Freeman and Sir Ben Kingsley round out the ranks as rival crime bosses "The Boss" and "The Rabbi" respectively. They are baying for Nick/Slevin’s blood and their money back. It’s all double crosses and deals in this big fat caper…
Sure to be accused of being too "tricky", The Wrong Man is also sure to annoy some with its rapid fire, smart-mouth dialogue and circular story-telling. It is very clear screen writer Smilovic has taken his cues from pulp fiction author Leonard, (Smiliovic has already adapted one of his novels into a television series). But in spite of the obvious influences The Wrong Man has its own voice and works as an entertainment, the cast clearly relishing the word play and mind games. It manages to avoid being tiresome with inspired production design (the design almost becomes a character) and outstanding performances – key to the success of a film which relies on just the right delivery of intricate dialogue.
The Wrong Man may not set the world of film on fire but it is fun.
Karan rates it 4/5
Yup agree with the review given. The dialogues are great and the film is fun and the direction is very unique inspite of the obvious influences.
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