The movie adaptation of Frank Miller’s neo-noir novels benefitted greatly from the author’s considerable involvement in the finished article. He wrote the film’s screenplay as well as co-producing and co-directing with Robert Rodriquez. The end result was an incredibly striking and memorable movie which thanks to the directors’ decision to shoot the film entirely on a digital backlot with the actors operating in front of a green screen. The end result sees the film play out almost entirely in luscious monochrome with the footage framed and shot like it it’s an animated version of the comic book panels themselves.
The extensive cast all seem to fully understand the tone and setting of the novel, with the likes of Mickey Rourke, Bruce Willis and Benicio Del Toro really throwing themselves into the pulpy old school feel of the novel. The movie combined three of Miller’s Sin City series of novels, The Big Fat Kill, The Hard Goodbye and That Yellow Bastard, with Rodriguez and Miller interweaving them into one all encompassing grimy and sordid underworld. Dealing with extremely dark and horrific storylines involving prostitutes, crooked cops, serial killers and paedophiles, it’s hard-hitting and the filmmakers are unrelenting in their commitment to portraying the graphic violence found in the source material. The long-awaited sequel has finally been green-lit and production is due to start very soon ready for an October 2013 release.
