“Staff Picks” is a deeper look into movies that we love here at Video CULTure. Each edition of this column will focus on a single film that we think you should check out, either for the first time or for a long-overdue revisit.
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By Patrick Bartlett (Twitter: @alleywaykrew)
As a general rule, biopics are formulaic and predictable. Maybe even more so than your average slasher movie and that might be the most formulaic kind of film there is. Even if you know nothing about the person whose biopic you’re watching, you know the beats and how it’s all going to play out right away. That can not be said about “Domino”, though. The idea of a movie star’s kid turned model turned bounty hunter seems ludicrous in and of itself. With a script by Richard Kelly being directed by Tony Scott (“Beverly Hills Cop II”), you end up with something that doesn’t really fit any mold.
Full disclosure to those that have not seen this film: the only people that seem to really love it are me and Quentin Tarantino. He and I both being Tony Scott fans is undoubtedly a major factor. Additionally, the fact that when I saw this film, I was obsessed with Richard Kelly’s “Donnie Darko”…so this was ostensibly made for me. All of that being said, the main complaint that I’ve heard from people who have actually talked about this movie (which is admittedly not a lot of people) is that it’s a mess. My problem with that is, I personally think it’s exciting when any piece of art tries something different. I want something dissimilar from anything else more often than not. I don’t think what can easily be dismissed as a “messy” action biopic is any more worthy of derision than abstract art. The messiness is kind of the point, after all. The filmmakers have made explicit when talking about the film what I feel is pretty obvious when watching it: this is not reality. It’s not trying to be. If you just go with it, you’ll find yourself under the movie’s spell.
This is usually where I would describe the plot but in this case, that’s difficult. It’s not impossible to do but the plot of this film is certainly convoluted. I won’t dispute that. That is one of the things that makes it interesting though. “Domino” is not something you can just put on in the background. Well, I suppose that’s not entirely true. It’s certainly a beautiful film to look at, so if you just wanted to look up every once in a while at the wonderful images that Tony Scott was able to create, you can certainly do that. I wouldn’t even say I’d blame you. However, to get the full experience, you have to pay attention to every detail. On top of that, you probably have to watch it 2 or 3 times to really get everything. It’s a dense piece of work. The main through line is Domino Harvey herself. As played by Kiera Knightley, Domino was the daughter of actor Laurence Harvey, who died when she was 7. Domino then ended up placed in various boarding schools by her mother before eventually becoming a model. All the while, showing an incredible predilection for violence and antisocial behavior. She finds herself at a bounty hunting seminar by Mickey Rourke’s character of Ed Moseby. When Ed attempts to take the students’ money and run with his protege, Choco (played so well by Edgar Ramirez that I have seen various terrible films that he was in since because this made me a lifelong fan). Domino catches them outside, throws a knife through Ed’s windshield and the three of them end up becoming a bounty hunting unit. The actual plot that I’m not attempting to describe involves them getting their own reality show (hosted by former 90210 cast members, seriously) and running afoul of the wealthy elite, the mob, and the FBI… in an attempt to help the country’s youngest grandmother. If all of that doesn’t intrigue you, I don’t know what will.
Apparently, the convoluted plot was all Richard Kelly. Anyone that has seen any of his films will probably not be that surprised by that bit of knowledge. Tony Scott had been trying unsuccessfully to make a biopic of Domino Harvey for years and it took Richard Kelly taking all of the disparate elements and creating something crazy out of what was already an incredible real-life story. The passion that Tony Scott had to tell this story is evident in every frame. Granted, there are a lot of negative things that could be said about Tony Scott’s work but “boring” is not one of them. This movie being exciting is par for the course but the attention to character and sensitivity to their relationships to one another by Scott is something that could have just as easily been lost in an attempt to serve the plot. It isn’t. The main reason I find myself returning to films over and over again is characters. Domino, Ed, and Choco (and their driver, Alf) are people I’ve had a strong desire to keep checking in with since thE movie’s release in 2005.
I feel like it’s impossible to talk about this film without discussing what Tony Scott accomplished visually. The colors, the camera work, it’s all gorgeous. It’s definitely gritty as well but it’s all unbelievably beautiful. There really aren’t a lot of directors that constantly innovated like he did. Generally, you see a director establish a visual style towards the beginning of their career that they spend the rest of their time making films honing it and not deviating all that much. That cannot be said of Tony Scott. There were certain hallmarks but every few films, he would develop an entirely new visual style. He’d work with it and everyone would rip him off and soon enough, he’d be onto something else. I can’t really think of anyone else in filmmaking like that and it’s a big part of why I’m consistently sad that he’s not around to make further films. With “Domino” and “Man On Fire”, he developed a look that’s still a part of the visual aesthetic of blockbuster filmmaking over a decade later.
As I said at the beginning of this, I feel like maybe the only people that love this movie are myself and Quentin Tarantino. I also wonder if more people would share the love if it wasn’t a film that kind of came and went upon its release. I was really excited for it but I didn’t really know anyone else who went to the theater or even rented it after it left. I haven’t met a lot of other people who have seen it or even heard of it in the time since. It’s a shame, even if the film isn’t your cup of tea. When this came out in 2005, it was before the full-blown proliferation of blockbuster cinema that we currently find ourselves in. The fact that a movie this crazy and undeniably weird got made within the studio system was pretty shocking then. It seems almost impossible now. I’d really like to see it get a cultural reevaluation the way that a lot of Tony Scott’s 90s work did. It’s a visual feast. There is a hell of a cool performance from Rourke. A deeply affecting performance by Ramirez. Knightley is maybe the most badass female of a decade that had an actual female Terminator, for God’s sake. I could go on and on but “Domino” truly is something that needs to be seen to be believed, so do yourself a favor and see it.
To find out where this film is available to stream, click here: Just Watch