The Limey

Director: Steven Soderbergh 

On the surface, The Limey appears to be a simple tale about revenge, but through some sharp dialogue, and characterizations it becomes a visual representation of the how the past can come back to haunt.  The movie becomes one man’s journey to exorcise the sins and demons of his past, by avenging his daughter’s death.  This could have easily turned into yet another Charles Bronson movie about a one-man wrecking crew, who leaves a path of bodies on the way to achieving this.

Wilson is a career criminal, a ghost in his daughters’ life, and a life long guest of his country’s penal system.   He has lost everything in life.  Now that he’s out of prison, seeks to restore and recover the years he has given away.  He learns through correspondence that something has happened to his only daughter upon her escape to America.  Wilson comes to America, haunted by visions of her, and the revenge he will bestow upon the one who took her away.  During this journey he encounters sympathetic souls along with roadblocks.  However his years of regret have given him the persistence to push forward to exorcise the demons and avenge his loss. 

This is more of an emotional trek than structured movie.  The plot is existent and handled well, however it never gets too complicated or complex as to overshadow the character’s objective.  Soderburgh probes beneath the surface of this simplicity and shows the visions of a man’s soul.  Filming style reflects the thought processes that go through the mind during stressful situations.  The thoughts of the past, present and future confrontation are melded together to represent the confused visions of a mind on a mission fueled by emotion.  By showing us these visions, and the character reacting based upon what we are shown, The Limey becomes a more powerful and effective look into revenge, redemption and recovery from past sins.

Ultimately, The Limey is a tale of revenge, which rises above a simplistic, predictable idea and delivers a strong message about family, vengeance and the restoration of one man’s soul.  Soderburgh uses his unique filming style to convey the tortured mental state that drives his character.  He gains the sympathy of the audience, not just from the pain of the story, but by showing us what’s going on inside his mind and justifying his actions.  He does all of this with a script full of long speeches, some cipherable.  This mood is captured in an exchange near the end of the film between Guzman and Warren.

“Do you have any idea what he’s saying?”  “No, but I know exactly what he means”.  Watching this movie and listening to it, viewers may not understand the film, but will know what the message is. ($$$ out of $$$$)

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