By Stephen Pytak 

     A talented cast, and a few gifted visionaries,
have brought to life the pages of Frank Miller's
dark comic novel.
     The result just may be the movie event of 2005.
     In short, "Sin City," is decadent and irresistable.
     It's film noir like no other, which uses color to
accent what is predominantly a black and white 
world. 
     It's very hard hitting. The film version hasn't
been toned down from the source material. Thank
Christ.
     It's not just a violent comic shot cool. The stories
are good. So are the characters, their intentions at
heart, and themes, loyalty in particular.
     "Now's the time to prove to your friends you're 
worth a damn," says "Dwight," one of the
guardians of a hookerville called "Old Town." 
"Sometimes that means dying. And sometimes it 
means killing a whole lot of people."
     And it's got a hell of a sense of humor. This is 
thanks to the performers. Take Mickey Rourke for 
instance. His "Marv" is already being hailed as a 
classic. 
     He's the star of the first of the three tales presented 
herein, "The Hard Goodbye." He's a lug built like 
the Frankenstein monster and the bridge of his nose 
slopes almost like a beak. He gets the night of his life
with a goddess hooker named "Goldie (Jaime King)." 
When he wakes, he finds her dead and realizes he's 
been framed. What follows is a daring escape, some 
of the funniest pill popping scenes and a rampage 
and a half as Marv goes hunting for the killer.
     This character is pretty over the top, and so is
his odyssey. He kills mercenaries, steals their coats,
fights a half-breed wolf, butchers a bunch of crooked
cops with a hatchet and battles the killer, a freako
cannibal hooked on God, "Kevin (Elijah Wood)." It's
never boring. And because this is a comic book world,
almost anything goes. It's unforgettable.
     The second story, "The Big Fat Kill," is about 
Old Town, a threat to a pax between the call girls
there and the cops and the relationship between
Dwight and the madam, "Gail (Rosario Dawson)."
It heats up when a head case with sex on the brain,
"Jackie Boy (Benecio Del Toro)" rides in looking for
a piece of tail and finds himself on the business end
of a Japanese sword. Problem is, Jackie Boy had
a shield. And Dwight struggles to dump the body
to hide any evidence.
     I liked a lot of things about this episode. At the
time the film came out, there were ramblings that
Clive Owen was about to inherit the role of 007. 
Obviously, it looks like he can do it. He's great in an
action role, and his eyes have this kind of crazed
determination about them that brings an extra air
of drama to a scene. I hope he's reconsidered for
the role in time.
     This part also featured Rosario Dawson, one of
the most lovely actresses working today. She hasn't
scored a lot of decent roles. But this one stands out.
I loved watching her pump submachine gun bullets
into a horde of killers. She really got into it, pure
warrior. It was kind of sexy actually. Maybe erotic's
the word. It's something to see all right. At Spencer's
Gifts the other day, I bought the poster with her 
picture on it. 
     The film's final third is about an old dog cop,
Bruce Willis' "Hardigan," a stripper named "Nancy
(Jessica Alba)" and the pedophile she escaped from
years ago, "That Yellow Bastard (Nick Stahl)." This
is some pretty sick stuff here, but it doesn't hold back
and I like that. I like edgy. And here you'll get a 
healthy dose all right. The Bastard, for instance,
gets his male package blown off, fixed, then ripped
off. 
     Yeeeeeeessssssshhhhhh!
     Willis was really good. It's been a while since I've
seen him in something memorable, and daring.
The scene where he's strung up, smashing a window
and holding glass with his toes to somehow cut his
bonds sticks in my head. The story ends with a bang.
And if audience members haven't read the story, 
the unexpected twist will have them shaking.
     I've seen this film twice so far and I'm going to
buy the jazzy soundtrack today. 
     In interviews I've been doing to promote my novel
"The .40  Caliber Mouse: A Modern Tale of 
Vengeance," I've been asked about my views of this
film. I guess one reason why is my book is violent.
It doesn't take place in a comic book world like 
Miller's, but my story about mercenaries is a bit over
the top, even though it always keeps one foot on the
ground.
     Miller is an inspiration, I've said. And if more
of his tales of "Sin City" were put on film with the
same creative energy, I'd be lining up to see them.