[.ca] The Limey (Widescreen)

From Amazon.com:
Steven Soderbergh's follow-up to his sexy thriller Out of Sight is an equally stylish but far more austere crime drama, a work of memory that mixes flashbacks, flashforwards, and ruminations on the present into an invigorating cinematic quilt. Terence Stamp is Wilson, an aging cockney criminal fresh out of prison who flies to Los Angeles to search for his daughter's killer. She died in a car wreck, but he suspects that her lover, a music industry mogul named Valentine (Peter Fonda), knows more than he's telling. Wilson is a fish out of water indeed, a cool, cruel London thug on the airy, sun-bright street of L.A., a silver-haired criminal taking on street punks and hit men with the relentless drive of a man possessed. It's like Get Carter channeled through Point Blank, a hard-edged revenge thriller steeped in sorrow and regret, trading the warmth of Out of Sight's romantic heat for a more contemplative remove. Fonda beautifully plays off his cinematic history of 1960s hippies and rebels as a nervous, cowardly millionaire sellout in white cotton peasant shirts and a deep California tan. Luiz Guzman and Lesley Ann Warren costar as Wilson's "adopted" guides through modern L.A., and Barry Newman is excellent as Valentine's tough, terse head of security, another aging pro blindsided by Wilson's relentless single-mindedness. Soderbergh quotes from Ken Loach's 1967 film Poor Cow (sadly not available on video in the U.S.) for Wilson's flashbacks as a fresh-faced teenage thug. --Sean Axmaker

An all-time favorite.:
When you first encounter The Limey, you may not think much of it. The edit is unconventional if you're primarily used to major studio films. It's got a loose feel to the cinematography, like most Soderbergh films. It's not a slick, modern, hyperkinetic production. It's an episode in the midlife crisis of people who thought they'd die before they got old. However, these things that may make it somewhat less accessible at first heighten its appeal on future viewings. Characters are introduced with a brief montage -- almost like you'd see on a TV show title sequence. The edit weaves conversations together in ways that don't seem logical at first. The Limey isn't a film about logic or cold, hard, objective fact. It's a highly subjective retelling of the events that make up the story -- apparently from the view of Terence Stamp's character on his way home. It exists in the memories of those involved -- memories of Stamp's visit to Los Angeles to sort out the death of his daughter; memories of his past. For Peter Fonda, memories of southern California in the '60s and past glory. This reflective memory form influences the cinematography -- things take on a sun-drenched, yellow/orange hue that is not dissimilar to your childhood memories. The soundtrack, too, calls back to days past with its music mostly coming from the 60s. (It's one of the best soundtracks in a long time). One of the most impressive scenes is a dialog between Stamp and Lesley Ann Warren. The scene plays in many different places -- a pier, an apartment, and so forth. The scene jumps between them, and were you to take it at face value, it would make no sense. But when you remember that the whole film is just a memory, it makes complete sense. The Limey is an innovative movie, mostly because of its unconventional approach to what would have otherwise been a flat revenge picture. You'll either be turned off immediately or strangely curious. I hope it's the latter for you -- it's a very interesting movie with great performances by all involved. It's one of my absolute essential DVDs.

badass noir film set in hollywood, doesnt get any better:
This movie rocks SO hard cause it starts with The Who song "the seeker". its about this british ex con who just released from prison, terrance stamp. he goes to LA to see who killed his daughter. the constant flashing of clips going back and forth through time is done so well that is it anything but confusing. in it are cool stars like luis guzman who plays stamp's daughters acting class friend in Hollywood. he drives him around the city and gets him a gun and bullets from these ghetto kids at the park. besides the opening who song, the rest of the music is perfect when it comes up. it is haunting and slowly suspesful music that suggests its 30s and 40s era film-noir influence. the film includes peter fonda, a record company executive mogul who has connections with Los Angeles crime partners. the beatles wrote the song she said she said about peter fonda. this is a smart film that is truly a treat for its crime genre. the music, dialogue and story are craved by true crime movie lovers everywhere. and this is about as real as the genre gets. palm trees, hollywood, the hills, record executives, guns, blood, ex cons, THE WHO. I rest my case.

The Lame-y:
This had potential, but Terence Stamp and Peter Fonda's performances are so bad that it's impossible to enjoy the film.

Is Terrence Stamp Somebody's 'Baby Daddy'?!:
This movie is so beautiful. But talkies require more than a pretty picture. It's so lame in so many ways that it hurts. The editing displays an overall attempt to visually salvage the story. The characters aren't believable, interesting or even descent eye-candy. I have enjoyed Stamp's earlier work and I anticipated a great film as he's the lead. What a disappointment. The friends watching it with me bet that I wouldn't finish watching it in one sitting. Although I won the bet, I regret the couple of hours of my life that I will never get back. I guess Mr. Stamp has a large hungry family to feed or something. I'm too lazy to sell this movie on e-bay....Actually, I'm just too kind.

A minor masterwork, innit?:
THE LIMEY is an engaging twist on the ol' revenge thriller motif, as Cockerney thug Terence Stamp hits L.A. like a cold slap, to find out what 'appened to 'is daughter, who reportedly perished in a car accident. In between moments of "fish out of water" dry humour, a story of lifelong regrets and melancholy emerges. Peter Fonda ably supports, in a role custom-fit for him; a rich, seedy faux-hippie who saw a good buck in the '60s-'70s L.A. rock 'n' roll business and milked it for all is was worth. Luis Guzman plays it relatively straight for once as Stamp's Latino guide around town, and Lesley Ann Warren is touching as a Hollywood B-actress who, like Stamp, is dealing with the onset of age and remorse. Another supporting player, Barry Newman, is like Fonda and Stamp, a '70s icon (from the great VANISHING POINT). Director Soderbergh's control of his story is (as ever) relaxed and guiding at the same time, and his use of an old Stamp movie from the '60s (POOR COW) to use as flashback material is near-genius. But it's the limey 'imself, Stamp, who leaves the most startling impression, his blue eyes alternately glaring and soft, his subdued temper mixed with reproach. Chilling, basically.