Film Review: Sin City: A Dame to Kill For

Copyright: Dimension Films

Frank Miller makes really good comics, and Sin City is no exception. First film, directed by Robert Rodriguez caught the world by surprise, but the second part seemed as if it might never get to the theaters at all (seem that way to me at least). Now, it’s here and it looks as if it spent last 9 years reading prison novels, drinking moonshine and working out using cans filled with concrete. The story of the new installment follows several narratives and it does this with the ease and confidence of a true champ.

Unlike the first film Sin City 2 seem more focused on the subtle (in Sin City terms) emotions, mainly loyalty and these ties (friendship, family or sexual love) that simply refuse to dwindle and die. It tells stories, including one about a woman who holds power over men, about a son who deems to reclaim respect and about frat boys who wanted to set homeless people on fire in the neighborhood where Marv drinks.

From the first moment, Sin City: A Dame to Kill For aim big and aim bloody. The interesting technique of black and white that are colored only for added emotional impact still works so well that I didn’t even noticed it until those colors remind me that I’m looking at a different kind of film. Rodriguez does wonders with gory violence and unbound, but still somewhat vintage sexuality, produced exclusively be Eva Green and her several erotically overcharged alter-egos.

While her posters featuring boobs managed to grab some attention, her body language and hypnotic delivery should grab the rest. There is no doubt that Green is a superb actress, but this film underlines that she is ready to push it even further into the murky waters of emotionally complicated (even undesired) sex.

At moments, the main storyline of the film feels almost sexists in nature (a woman that uses her sexual appeal to control others, but not in any magical sort of way), and there are other things that might be interpreted as misogynistic. On the other hand, the exact same things might be interpreted as raw empowerment coming from the same character, which deems that the society of men is something that can be disposed of (girls of Old Town also plays into this ideal). For me, both views become intertwined, and that is the thing that makes watching Sin City: Dame to Kill For interesting on a cognitive level.

Great Mickey Rourke revisiting the role as Marv makes the film very interesting on a purely death&destruction level. Both work and this combo make this move a very impacting experience.