The Limey (1999)

Director: Steven Soderbergh

Story: Dem Lobbs

Cast: Terrance Stamp, Luiz Guzman, Lesley Ann Warren, Peter Fonda

Music: Cliff Martinez

Time: 86 minutes

Bottom-line: Has little else apart from Stamp’s performance

1998-2001 were the peak years of Soderbergh’s career, with several hit films back-to-back: Out of Sight, Traffic, Erin Brockovich and Ocean’s Eleven. This 1999 film in between ruins the streak. Starring two actors famous from the 60s: Terrance Stamp and Peter Fonda, this is a film that starts out well, but fails to hit the right notes.

 

Stamp as Wilson

“Tell him I’m coming!”

An Englishman, Wilson (Stamp) travels to LA to investigate the "accident" of his daughter, Jenny, which he believes to be murder. After serving nine years in a British prison, he is a hardened man ready to use a gun and violence if the need arises. He tracks down two of her friends: Eduardo (Guzman) and Elaine (Warren) to find out what they know. On enquiring, his suspicion falls on Jenny’s boyfriend, a wealthy record producer named Terry Valentine (Fonda). Valentine is also involved in drug trafficking; his right-hand man, and manager of the drug business, is Avery (Barry Newman). When Wilson kills one of Valentine’s bodyguards, Avery hires a hitman to kill Wilson. Whether Valentine was actually responsible for Jenny’s death and whether Wilson gets his revenge is what the rest of the film is about.

 

Fonda as Valentine 

The title refers to a slang used by Americans to refer to a British person. Throughout the film, there are several references to Wilson’s English accent and past. The editing technique used here is new: one dialogue extends into several scenes; a line from the present is juxtaposed with a scene from the past/future, and the narrative structure is also non-linear. There are sudden flashes of past and future events. Soderbergh uses a hazy look to show the flashbacks of Jenny and Wilson. Now, why this weird editing? Is it to symbolically say something? Either way, I consider it an experiment gone wrong; it didn’t give a good effect at all. One scene I liked is the one where Wilson kills Valentine’s men in the warehouse; one long take shows Wilson being thrown out on the street, getting up, taking a hidden gun, going back in, killing the men and coming out with a splatter of blood on his face. Another interesting scene is where he kills the bodyguard: the camera focuses on Valentine having a good time, whereas in the background, you can see Wilson’s doing, highlighting the “safety” that Valentine thinks he is enjoying.  

 

Guzman as Eduardo 

Terrance Stamp’s performance is the only highlight of the film. This badass hero, with chiselled expressions and cold blue eyes, will stop at nothing to avenge his daughter’s murder. The way he kills Valentine’s hitmen in the warehouse, and later hauls the bodyguard down to his death send chills down your spine. We can clearly see the effects of prison on him; while his reminiscences of Jenny are full of emotion, not a trace of it is visible on his face or voice. Fonda and Newman have also given good performances, with the former skilfully playing a charming romantic, stylish businessman as well as a killer.

 

Warren as Elaine 

With a running time of less than 90 minutes, I think the film leaves out a lot of detail. Giving minimal details about flashbacks is usually good, but here, I felt the build-up wasn’t sufficient. There was no plot twist, nor any “aha” moment, though I expected a lot of them from the plot synopsis. So, apart from the performances of Stamp and Fonda, the film doesn’t have anything to boast about.

My Rating: 2.5/5

Rotten Tomatoes rating: 93%