Lucky Number Slevin (2006)

Director:

Paul McGuigan

Writer (WGA):

Jason Smilovic (written by)

Release Date:

7 April 2006 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Thriller

Tagline:

Wrong Time. Wrong Place. Wrong Number.

Plot:

A case of mistaken identity lands Slevin into the middle of a war being plotted by two of the city's most rival crime bosses: The Rabbi and The Boss. Slevin is under constant surveillance by relentless Detective Brikowski as well as the infamous assassin Goodkat and finds himself having to hatch his own ingenious plot to get them before they get him.

Plot Keywords:

Death | Mistaken Identity | Gay Son | Assassin | Revenge

Awards:

4 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Josh Hartnett	...	Slevin Kelevra
Bruce Willis	...	Mr. Goodkat
Lucy Liu	...	Lindsey
Morgan Freeman	...	The Boss
Ben Kingsley	...	The Rabbi (as Sir Ben Kingsley)
Michael Rubenfeld	...	Yitzchok
Peter Outerbridge	...	Det. Dumbrowski
Stanley Tucci	...	Det. Brikowski
Kevin Chamberlin	...	Marty
Dorian Missick	...	Elvis
Mykelti Williamson	...	Sloe
Scott Gibson	...	Max
Daniel Kash	...	Bodyguard #1
Dmitry Chepovetsky	...	Bodyguard #2
Sam Jaeger	...	Nick Fisher

Also Known As:

Lucky # Slevin (Germany) (USA) (DVD box title)
Lucky Number S7evin (USA) (poster title)
The Wrong Man (Australia)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence, sexuality and language.

Runtime:

109 min

Country:

Germany | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

UK:18 | Netherlands:12 | Iceland:16 | Canada:18A | Finland:K-15 | Argentina:16 | Malaysia:18PL | Spain:18 | Norway:15 | Sweden:15 | France:U | Singapore:R21 (cut) | Australia:MA | Italy:T | Brazil:16 | Hong Kong:IIB | Germany:16 | Portugal:M/16 | Ireland:16 (theatrical rating) | Ireland:18 (DVD rating) | USA:R (certificate #42253) | New Zealand:R18 | South Korea:18 | Philippines:R-18 | Chile:TE

Filming Locations:

Montréal, Québec, Canada

Company:

Capitol Films

Trivia:

The name of the film comes from an episode title of "The New Shmoo" (1979). Shmoo is also referenced by Morgan Freeman in the movie. However, Morgan Freeman's description of a Shmoo is a paraphrase of the standard version from Li'l Abner by Al Capp who introduced the fantasy beast in 1948.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Goodkat and The Boss are playing chess, Goodkat moves a piece with his right hand. But in the next shot you can clearly see him pulling back his left hand, making it seem like he moved the piece with his left hand.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Soldier: He's clean.
Benny Begin: So, why are you here? Huh?

Movie Connections:

References "Columbo: Murder by the Book (#1.1)" (1971)

Soundtrack:

Shanty by the Sea

Connecting the Dots

Like any sweet, short story about murder and revenge, "LNS" likes to connect the dots. It's a healthy principle in screen writing (and in the writing of any sort of story) as long as one knows how to achieve a desired effect. And the desired effect is generally the long lasting effect.

LNS is a cool little joint of a movie, studded with stars galore. Which, of course, makes it a pleasurable view. Or at least for me it always does; how else could you define a film with Bruce Willis, Ben Kingsly and (the ever present, if I may say so) Morgan Freeman? Yeah, sure, stars generally ruin movies by being a part of them. But that's only the case if the movie tries to be a serious lesson of morale and virtue. Which LNS does not.

And that's why it's cool. A very well conceived popcorn flick, which connects all the dots in their eternal shallowness in the way it should. Nothing too fancy, nothing too subtle. Just enough for a good time. That is, if you enjoy having a good time without thinking too much about it and if you don't let yourself distracted by the twinkling bloody frames.