The Limey - Movie Review

Rating: 3 out of 5

Part of me feels like I didn't really get The Limey. Though it's a spare 85 minutes, director Steven Soderbergh always has a trick or two up his sleeve, and I was sure some twists were in store for me.

Witness Out of Sight, with criminal and cop falling into an unlikely romance. Witness Sex, Lies, and Videotape, which broke the indie film scene wide open. Witness Schizopolis - you know, all of it.

But no matter how many ways I slice it, despite the critical smash that The Limey has become, the film failed to impress me much. The story is trite: British ex-con (Stamp) flies to L.A. to avenge his daughter's death, which he assumes is the result of foul play due to a music magnate (Fonda). Expecting a clever plot twist, I waited and waited, and then the movie was over.

This isn't to say that The Limey isn't a well-made film. As usual, Soderbergh is innovative behind the camera, with flashbacks, flash-forwards, flashes sideways, alternate realities, and optical trickery. While this is distracting, it does server to make the film more visceral and fun. Stamp and Fonda make for interesting rivals, but neither really owns the film. The most intriguing part of The Limey is Stamp's limey slang: words like "snaffle" and "doolally" that spice up the lingo a la A Clockwork Orange (though never with the same power).

Unfortunately, The Limey falls into that class of films that is perfectly watchable but ultimately forgettable. Soderbergh fans will rejoice. The rest of the world will scratch its collective head.

Twist of Lime.

Facts and Figures

Year: 1999

Run time: 89 mins

In Theaters: Wednesday 4th August 1999

Box Office Worldwide: $3.2M

Budget: $10M

Distributed by: Artisan Pictures

Production compaines: Artisan Entertainment

Reviews

Contactmusic.com: 3 / 5

Rotten Tomatoes: 93%
Fresh: 74 Rotten: 6

IMDB: 7.1 / 10

Cast & Crew

Director: Steven Soderbergh

Producer: John Hardy, Scott Kramer

Screenwriter: Lem Dobbs

Starring: Terence Stamp as Wilson, Lesley Ann Warren as Elaine, Luis Guzmán as Eduardo Roel, Barry Newman as Jim Avery, Joe Dallesandro as Uncle John (as Joe Dallessandro), Nicky Katt as Stacy the Hitman, Peter Fonda as Terry Valentine, Amelia Heinle as Adhara, Melissa George as Jennifer 'Jenny' Wilson, William Lucking as Warehouse Foreman, Matthew Kimbrough as Tom Johannson, John Robotham as Rick (Valentine's Bodyguard), Steve Heinze as Larry (Valentine's Bodyguard), Nancy Lenehan as Lady on Plane

Also starring: Luis Guzman, John Hardy, Scott Kramer, Lem Dobbs