Film directors seem to find themselves making the choice of
offering flash over substance in films these days. There have been a large
number of films lately that offer a decent story but seem more concerned with
the look of the film than anything else. GHOST IN THE SHELL is one and ATOMIC
BLONDE felt like another. Both were entertaining enough but seemed more intent
on the appearance of the sets and feel of the film than the story. TERMINAL
feels that way most of the time but ends with a bang.
The film opens in a dark city much like what film fans will
recall from Sin City and its sequel. The streets are grimy, the sky feels thick
and the only illumination comes from the various multi-colored neon signs that
rise alongside the buildings. We see someone going into a confessional which
turns out to be a front for a crime boss. She makes him an offer, if she can
take out her competition before the end of the night he will give her all his
killing contracts. He agrees and off we go.
The first character we actually see is a man waiting on a
train in a station. His wait is interrupted by the station night manager (Mike
Myers) doing his cleaning rounds who tells him it will be a while till the next
train and suggest he go to the diner to wait which he does.
Accosted by two punks with an unarmed pistol he talks them
out of robbing him and continues to the diner. There he’s greeted by a waitress
named Annie (Margot Robbie). As the pair converse after he lets his coffee go
cold we find out that he is a terminally ill teacher named Bill (Simon Pegg).
The pair begin a conversation runs back and forth at breakneck speed until
Annie begins talking to him about committing suicide.
Cut to our second coinciding story. A pair of hitmen Vince
(Dexter Fletcher) and Alfred (Max Irons) are waiting for word from Mr. Franklyn
about an assignment he has for them. They’re doing so at the same diner Bill
was in though at a different point in time. Vince, the leader of the two, is
abrasive and crude while Alfred thinks of himself as a more subtle person. Both
react to Annie quite differently. Word finally reaches them with instructions
to go to a club, The Rabbit Hole. Once there they discover that Annie also
works there as a stripper and follow her into another room to receive the
directions they’ve been waiting for.
The story moves back and forth between these two with plenty
of great visuals on hand and solid performances by all on hand are on display.
What seems to be lacking at first is a cohesive plot to follow. It feels
disjointed at best and far too art film minded at worst. I’d almost given up on
the film when about halfway through things started to change. By the end I was
glad I stayed with it. It brought things together and provided a very satisfying
end that took me off guard.
The film is no doubt being promoted with images of Robbie
after two roles that have garnered her much attention, that of Harley Quinn in
SUICIDE SQUAD and as Tonya Harding in I TONYA. Both offered flawed characters
with the first being completely mad and the second scarred mentally by her
upbringing. With this film offering her a quirky character as well I’m hoping
she backs off this sort in the future before finding herself in a rut.
Pegg has always been a favorite of mine since the films he
made with Edgar Wright. He delivers here again with a character plagues with a
nicotine cough and dying who’s trying to decide just what to do next. The back
and forth wordplay exchanges he has with Robbie are well done and enjoyable,
even at the points where you wonder to yourself what exactly is going on.
Fletcher and Irons left little impression on me. Both feel
like cardboard cutouts with little depth to either and no background story to
make them interesting. They’re here to move the story forward but little more.
There is a reason for them but it felt limited. The same holds true for the
station manager that Myers plays but something here is different than with the
two hitmen.
In the end I can say that visually the film was wonderful to
look at and I’m not just talking about Robbie. The feel and as I said in the
title of this piece, the feeling of a neon noir makes it as much a character as
those doing the acting. The acting is straight forward and the plot twist at
the end is enough to please most film fans. It’s different and definitely not
for everyone but if you’re willing to give it a try and stick with it you might
enjoy it.
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