I watched Sin City last night and its ‘film noir’ atmosphere followed me for the rest of the week-end.
For those who spent the last month under a stone, "Sin City" is a direct translation to screen of Frank Miller’s graphic novels.
I am not saying ‘comics’ as well because the original work is far from the empty pages of most of what is accepted as comic books. Under brutal and sometimes shallow apearances, the world of Sin City is rich with a web of tormented characters and interconnected story-lines.
I am not saying ‘adaptation’ because this is one of the most literal and successful translation of a graphic novel into a motion picture that I know of. 99% of what you see on screen has an equivalent frame somewhere in the books. And 99% of the dialogs come directly from the text in print, including the dreaded voice overs (which unconventional use take a little to get used to). This is arguably the most faithul adaptation to date, and a wonderful confirmation that respect of the original material is not only possible for a movie, but it is also paramount to a succesful movie. What was already demonstrated by movies such as Hellboy, Constantine or The Lord of the Rings culminates here with a literal translation down to the graphic style.
The visual style nurtured by Frank Miller is a character in its own right. His use of saturated lights, pitch black shadows, plain black and white details or a touch of color are doing much more than giving a ‘drawn’ look to the pictures of Sin City. They draw your attention, guide you through a labyrinth of details that would be lost in any attempt at realism.
If you can get past the brutality of its story (and the controversial reviews), Sin City is a real visual experience that has to be seen at least once. For me, that will be at least twice…