| 4. HAYWIRE |
[Jan. 23rd, 2012|02:18 am] |
dir. Steven Soderbergh, USA/Ireland 2011.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1506999/
Soderbergh and writer Lem Dobbs' last project together, 1999's THE LIMEY, is perhaps the former's most championed work among his fans, an absorbingly oblique revenge drama with stunning editing that recalled and revived the iconography of 1960's cinema to layer the characters' history folding into their present. The film also nicely complemented Soderbergh's mainstream breakout hit of the previous year, OUT OF SIGHT (following a decade or so exploring the independent circuit exclusively with various, but mostly minor levels of success), establishing the auteur's first successful pairing of popcorn and arthouse efforts to come. Their entertainingly contentious DVD commentary set the record straight that many of the directorial choices that were praised, such as the single shot of Wilson entering and exiting a warehouse full of combatants, with all acts of violence in the interim kept offscreen, were actually scripted, whereas those that were criticized, such as the amorphous nature of the backstory, were Soderbergh's deliberate deviations from Dobbs' screenplay.
It's not yet clear to what extent Soderbergh adhered to Dobbs' blueprint this time around in HAYWIRE, but both films' protagonists are direct people of action, and their motivations are similarly revealed in elliptical forms such as flashbacks within flashbacks, though the themes are arguably quite more light here. Indeed, when it comes to the musical score, Soderbergh's more frequent collaborators are Cliff Martinez for his heavier films such as TRAFFIC, SOLARIS, and CONTAGION, and David Holmes for his breezier fare like the aforementioned OUT OF SIGHT, the OCEAN'S 11 movies, and this project.
And yet, the stakes feel higher than in those caper films, as the story touches on some of the international intrigue that feels at home in the director's more politically-charged settings, so the result somewhat hybridizes the two major styles often characterizing his work, somewhat like an inverse of THE INFORMANT, which took a purely comedic tack while depicting serious corporate collusion. The real-world context for HAYWIRE's plot is the prominence of private contractors in American paramilitary operations, and the corruption that it attracts, but the story keeps its depicted scope and web of players pretty lean, yielding a smaller budget (a reported $25M, and a bargain at that given the various locales, with assistance from Ireland's tax credit for locally-produced films - temporary job creation in action) and luring an all-star cast (not that Soderbergh generally has a problem in this arena). At the very least as a result of this project, Soderbergh and crew have become much more fluent in capturing choreographed action, and have added several new actors to their informal repertory company, one of whom, Channing Tatum, has already contributed his talents to the director's next effort, MAGIC MIKE.
Indeed, Soderbergh has always gotten excellent performances, often working with newcomers, or taking established actors to the next level. Here Gina Carano makes her acting debut, and comes off as well at home on camera, both in terms of drama and action. Her Mallory Kane, star operative for a private firm contracted by the American government, exudes expedience, caution, and charm, often all at once, by keeping her expressions and gestures economical. While this is not a risky or complicated choice, it is a wise one for an initial outing, and it more than fits the character. She plays well off of the other major actors in the movie, striking various levels of trust or tension with each, rooting the audience in her suspicions and tactics. As with her MMA experience, the hand-to-hand combat scenarios here are thrilling and swift, with the goal of incapacitation over all other considerations, personal or not- these scenes looked grueling to learn, rehearse, and execute but also absolute fun for the actors and stunt team.
HAYWIRE might ultimately turn out to be merely a building block in Soderbergh's oeuvre, but it's by no means an insignificant one, judging by the new tools he's acquired in this go-around. Hopefully, Dobbs is equally satisfied with the results, but either way, should be required to join Soderbergh for another commentary on this movie's video release. The scales of direct storytelling opposite thematic resonance may swing between THE LIMEY and this movie, but there's certainly room for both when the output is this prolific, and as datapoints along a curve of narrative effectiveness, they are as fascinatingly instructive as they are entertaining. |
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