Lucky Number Slevin (2006)

User Rating:

7.8/10   

Director:

Paul McGuigan

Writer (WGA):

Jason Smilovic (written by)

Release Date:

7 April 2006 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Thriller

Tagline:

Wrong Time. Wrong Place. Wrong Number.

Plot:

A case of mistaken identity lands Slevin into the middle of a war being plotted by two of the city's most rival crime bosses: The Rabbi and The Boss. Slevin is under constant surveillance by relentless Detective Brikowski as well as the infamous assassin Goodkat and finds himself having to hatch his own ingenious plot to get them before they get him.

Plot Keywords:

Homophobic Overtones | Gambling | Death | Hitman | Blood

Awards:

4 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Josh Hartnett	...	Slevin Kelevra
Bruce Willis	...	Mr. Goodkat
Lucy Liu	...	Lindsey
Morgan Freeman	...	The Boss
Ben Kingsley	...	The Rabbi (as Sir Ben Kingsley)
Michael Rubenfeld	...	Yitzchok
Peter Outerbridge	...	Det. Dumbrowski
Stanley Tucci	...	Det. Brikowski
Kevin Chamberlin	...	Marty
Dorian Missick	...	Elvis
Mykelti Williamson	...	Sloe
Scott Gibson	...	Max
Daniel Kash	...	Bodyguard #1
Dmitry Chepovetsky	...	Bodyguard #2
Sam Jaeger	...	Nick Fisher

Also Known As:

Lucky # Slevin (Germany) (USA) (DVD box title)
Lucky Number S7evin (USA) (poster title)
The Wrong Man (Australia)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence, sexuality and language.

Runtime:

109 min

Country:

Germany | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

UK:18 | Netherlands:12 | Iceland:16 | Canada:18A | Finland:K-15 | Argentina:16 | Malaysia:18PL | Spain:18 | Norway:15 | Sweden:15 | France:U | Singapore:R21 (cut) | Australia:MA | Italy:T | Brazil:16 | Hong Kong:IIB | Germany:16 | Portugal:M/16 | Ireland:16 (theatrical rating) | Ireland:18 (DVD rating) | USA:R (certificate #42253) | New Zealand:R18 | South Korea:18 | Philippines:R-18

Filming Locations:

Montréal, Québec, Canada

Company:

Capitol Films

Trivia:

The name of the film comes from an episode title of "The New Shmoo" (1979). Shmoo is also referenced by Morgan Freeman in the movie. However, Morgan Freeman's description of a Shmoo is a paraphrase of the standard version from Li'l Abner by Al Capp who introduced the fantasy beast in 1948.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Towards the beginning of the film at the horse track they show a horse fall during a race. In one of the scenes you can see a new John Deere tractor in the upper left hand corner of the screen. The scene was supposed to be set in 1979.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Soldier: He's clean.
Benny Begin: So, why are you here? Huh?

Movie Connections:

References On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969)

Soundtrack:

Shanty by the Sea

There is no "they..." I did this to you. Me.

Wow! I felt like I discovered an unknown gem of a movie. I have heard about the film, but no details come to mind. How it escaped my radar is a mystery as it has some of my favorite stars and some surprising performances.

First, Lucy Liu (Kill Bill: Vol. 1, Charlie's Angels) gave what I consider the best performance of her career. She was absolutely adorable and really made this film entertaining.

Her performance, combined with Josh Hartnett (Pearl Harbor, Black Hawk Down), someone I never paid any attention to in the past, made me think that this was something of a comedy. Harnett played the mistaken identity to perfection and was cool and funny.

You always had to wonder what was going on with Bruce Willis in the shadows. It was driving me nuts. But then the direction changes and you know it is not a comedy but a revenge movie and your jaw drops at the cleverness with which this film was made.

Big Kudos to director Paul McGuigan, an unknown to me, but who is working on a film version of one of my favorite old TV shows, The Equalizer; and to writer Jason Smilovic.

With those already mentioned and Morgan Freeman, Ben Kingsley and Stanley Tucci, this film is worth everyone's time and a must see. The story is phenomenal!