Domino (2005)

Directed by: Tony Scott | 127 minutes | action, drama, thriller, biography, crime | Actors: Keira Knightley, Mickey Rourke, Edgar Ramirez, Riz Abbasi, Delroy Lindo, MoNique Imes-Jackson, Ian Ziering, Brian Austin Green, Joe Nunez, Macy Gray, Shondrella Avery, Dabney Coleman, Peter Jacobson, Kel ONeill, Lucy Liu, Jacqueline Bisset, Dale Dickey, Lew Temple, Christopher Walken, Mena Suvari, TK Carter, Charles Paraventi, Frederick Koehler, Stanley Kamel

Heads you die. Tails you live. The symbolism that runs like a thread through Tony Scott’s new feature subjects questions about life and death to a simple game of heads or tails. In ‘Domino’, the daughter of a famous actor chooses a rough life as a bounty hunter over a life full of wealth and glamour. From start to finish, the film shows how and why, and especially how a director can turn a true story into a feast for the eyes.

No matter how concentrated you try to watch ‘Domino’, you quickly get the feeling that you are watching an extremely long music video: a style Scott owes to the influence of action thriller guru Quentin Tarantino, and which he has developed over the years. has also made it his own. Already in the first scene and then the opening titles it becomes clear how the film works: fierce action and sharp dialogues are interspersed with a good dose of humor and supported by a nice soundtrack. Add to that the necessary camera and editing tricks and the ride can begin. But beware: fasten your seatbelts, because Scott makes his film a flight with a lot of turbulence.

From the very first minute ‘Domino’ turns out to be a kind of showcase of the possibilities offered by the camera and editing. Images are fixed, reversed or supplemented with texts and filming from multiple camera positions adds a busy and chaotic atmosphere to the storming of a house. Because that’s the harsh reality Domino finds himself in: kicking down doors with a shotgun in hand without knowing how much firepower is behind them. However, when their client needs money for his child’s surgery, he is forced to play double game. Domino and her team find themselves in a world of mob bosses, settlements and FBI investigations.

Flashbacks, literally reversing storylines and telling the story from different narrative perspectives do not make it easy to get a clear picture of the events. Moreover, it distracts from a second, perhaps stronger characteristic of ‘Domino’: the symbolism. Because although the head or tail game of deciding life or death may seem like a cliché, it comes back in several ways and the viewer decides how. You can see it as a relativistic and nonchalant philosophy, but also as a representation of the two faces of Domino Harvey. The goldfish also play the same role: it is funny at first that Domino sees the death of her goldfish as a turning point in her life, but then a hint when this will happen again.

There are hardly any moments of peace in the film. It is therefore comical that Domino tells her story by means of a cold conversation with an FBI agent, and the rest only consists of flashbacks. Such oppositions are repeated in the film on several levels: the relationship between glamor and crime in LA and the difficult relationship between Domino and her colleague Choco. A smart move, because the personal frustrations that arise give the violence just a little more substance.

Anyone looking for mistakes or shortcomings in ‘Domino’ will come home from a cold fair. Tony Scott has thought of everything. Even the end credits, in which the entire cast is briefly walked by, is beautifully designed. However, the only downside is in the credits. Keira Knightley is horny. Not the real Domino…