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Payback (1999)
Brian Helgeland is an interesting, albeit somewhat unpolished noir filmmaker. He wrote the script for the enticing but still uneven L. A. Confidential in 1997, and now he makes his directorial debut with the dark, noirish action-thriller Payback, starring an unrelenting Mel Gibson, who incidentally also interfered with the directing process. The film has plenty of reverence for the films it stands on the shoulders of, with its unwavering low-key lighting and obvious homage to Hong Kong action. What's good about Helgeland's over-the-top story is that it puts its own clichés into a rather enjoyable context – Payback is quite aware of its own excess. At times this self-reflective form works, and there are segments where Helgeland's style is effective and also manages to crawl under your skin. Unfortunately, this is not the case all throughout the film. More often than not, you find yourself observing from a distance. More often than not, you're too aware of the machinations at play. And when that happens, Payback is only interesting as a stylistic study. Copyright © 24.01.2000 Fredrik Gunerius Fevang |
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