By Jude Hinojosa

Lucky Number Slevin’s off-beat style gives a refreshing look at a movie that doesn’t base itself solely on the action. Beginning as an idea “about a guy who was just incredibly unlucky”, it evolved into a clever story that had “the whole company quoting lines (by) Monday morning”.

New York has bad news for Slevin (Josh Hartnett). What was meant to be a vacation to visit his friend Nick, has him forced to take his place when two rival crime bosses send their henchmen to pick up the protagonist’s missing friend. Just as any reasonable man, Slevin has reasons for not wanting to be a part of the mess but after a nice punch in the face, he’s on his way to visit "The Boss" (Morgan Freeman). He informs Nick’s substitute of monies owed to him but will gladly trash the bill if he assassinates his rival’s son, "The Fairy." Seeing no other choice than to live, he accepts. Slevin is safely back at the apartment, or so he thinks. Two Hasidic Jews knock on the door; Slevin answers. Cut to Slevin meeting "The Rabbi" (Sir Ben Kingsley), The Boss’ nemesis. The deal is pretty simple: pay The Rabbi his $30,000 or Slevin is killed. If it couldn’t get any worse, Slevin has two stalkers, Detective Brikowski (Stanley Tucci) and professional assassin, Goodkat (Bruce Willis), not to mention keeping love interest, Lindsay (Lucy Liu), from finding out what’s really going on with him. What’s poor Slevin to do? “Hatch a plot to get them...before they get him.”

Slevin (Josh Hartnett) and The Boss (Morgan Freeman) in Paul McGuigan's latest flick.

Lucky Number Slevin has a unique style, blending old cinema class with contemporary action. There’s love making, dirty sex, comedy, and blood. From classic gun shootings to a baseball thrown full speed to a man’s eye, there’s a satisfactory amount of action in the movie: not too little, not too much, it’s just right. Paul McGuigan’s directing captures, both, Lucky Number Slevin’s quirky and dramatic characteristics. His illustrations on taking the protagonist’s adventure to a dark path is demonstrated through his different styles of shots and cuts; he gives off a 60’s feeling while mixing it with some seriousness. It’s visually attractive, although the wallpaper gets a little too distracting-giving the audience the “raccoon and a shiny object” syndrome.

Writer Jason Smilovic excels in the flow of the story. Creating a plot where the balance of dark and light situations existing in a person’s life are shown; it allows for everyone involved (actors, director, etc.) to be able to provide a very believable and satisfying performance. Smilovic delivers humorous and very human dialogue to the movie. He focuses on Slevin as a person, going through his situation, rather than the situation itself. While the movie felt a little too long, the end result is satisfying. One fault noticed in his work was his unneeded racial comments. Referring someone as “brown sugar” and “darkies” was not needed for the progression of the movie or its characters; it gives no reason for the comment at all.

Lucky Number Slevin is a good movie. Go watch it. It’s got a little something for everyone; except for kids being rated R and such.
LUCKY NUMBER SLEVIN is rated "R" and is currently in wide release starting April 7th.