R[évolve]r

So you think your taste in film is sophisticated because you like Guy Ritchie? You think you've got it all figured out, his technique, his delivery... his universe is your universe and you tell all your friends, "you gotta see Snatch, it's such an amazing film" and "when I saw Lock, Stock... for the first time, I just knew Guy Ritchie was gonna be huge." Does this pretty much sum you up?

Well first of all, your a tool for using a word like 'amazing' to describe Ritchie in the first place. That over-used word is for non-thinking drones who have given up on the whole 'thinking for themselves' thing and have just gone with the majority. Second, Guy has finally come out with a movie that those of us who appreciate the fact that he is intelligent is coupled with the already obvious fact that he's a brilliant filmmaker, can appreciate and love and which will allow us to look at all your band-wagon riding shit-for-brains and see your heads explode.

The movie is called Revolver, and while it seemingly has it's roots in typical 'Ritchie' fare, it's a thought-inducing tale involving numerology and psychology that's not once going to let you look away or not listen. You try that and you're going to be lost. I know you'll all try it, won't you. (insert lol).

I'm not going to give you much of the story but I'll give you the setup: After spending seven years in solitary confinement and having his sister-in-law murdered, confidence trickster Jake Green (Jason Statham) is out to get revenge on Dorothy Macha (Ray Liotta).

Jake Green is a hotshot con artist who has acquired a specific strategy (referred to as "the Formula"), that is supposed to lead its user to win every game, during his seven-year stint imprisoned in solitary confinement. The Formula itself was discovered by two unnamed men in adjacent cells either side of Jake's own. During the first five years of his seven-year sentence, the three men communicated their thoughts on confidence tricks and chess moves via messages hidden inside provisional books, such as 'The Mathematics of Quantum Mechanics'. They plan to leave their cells simultaneously, but end up leaving Jake behind, who ends up serving the remaining two years. He finds that all of his possessions and money have been taken by the two men with whom he had shared everything but, having the two men's Formula, he went about making a lot of money at various casinos. Two years later, Jake has garnered a reputation that leads many casinos to fear his freakishly good 'luck'. The Formula is seen to apply to any game, and is often exemplified by his apparent mastery of chess. The story revolves around Jake's epiphanic awakening, as he learns how to apply the Formula to the 'game' of life.

That's going to be just a little tiny tip of how deep this movie goes as it's riddled with Kabbalic and numerological references throughout for those who "care to indulge." Most of my readers will love the visuals, the acting, the style...but maybe one or two of you will "get" it. Which is ok, I didn't "get" it either, I failed Quantum Mechanics...er, uh, but I DID get what he was doing and did get the premise. I know the beginning, middle and end and I know the how and the why. Which is why this movie is nothing short of brilliant to me.

Watch it, I dare you. I also dare you to try to act like you understand. It's really not about that, though you'll try to convince yourself it is. I know two people who, when/if they see this film will throw a fit. When they don't understand a complicated plot, they dog the movie, actually get physically upset to the point of rage. Ha! I only wish I could be there.

I now own this movie and it's going in my "Top" list of films that I would use in a survey to describe the kind of person I am. Complicated, but fun as hell to watch.

(((03)))