| Lucky Number Slevin | |
|---|---|
 Promotional theater poster |
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| Directed by | Paul McGuigan |
| Written by | Jason Smilovic |
| Starring | Josh Hartnett Lucy Liu Morgan Freeman Ben Kingsley Stanley Tucci and Bruce Willis |
| Music by | J. Ralph |
| Cinematography | Peter Sova |
| Editing by | Andrew Hulme |
| Distributed by | North America: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer The Weinstein Company International: New Line Cinema |
| Release date(s) | United Kingdom:February 24, 2006 United States:April 7, 2006 |
| Running time | 110 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Gross revenue | $56,308,881 (worldwide)[1] |
Lucky Number Slevin, renamed for DVD as Lucky # Slevin (also known as The Wrong Man), is a 2006 crime thriller film written by Jason Smilovic, directed by Paul McGuigan and starring Morgan Freeman, Ben Kingsley, Stanley Tucci, Lucy Liu, Josh Hartnett and Bruce Willis. Set in New York City, the plot focuses on the paths of Slevin Kelevra (Hartnett), Lindsey (Liu), two feuding crime lords known as The Boss (Freeman) and The Rabbi (Kingsley), and a mysterious hitman known as Mr. Goodkat (Willis). The film holds a 52% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Contents |
Plot
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This plot summary may be too long or overly detailed. Please help improve it by removing unnecessary details and making it more concise. (April 2009) |
Over the film's opening credits, two men are ambushed in separate locations and murdered, their ledgers stolen from their bodies by the unseen killers. Later, in a covered waiting area of a bus terminal, a disturbed young man is approached by Goodkat (Bruce Willis), who tells the story of Max, a family man who bet borrowed money on a fixed horse race while his son waited in the car. Unknown to Max, the mobsters financing the fix discovered others betting on it and, to set an example, murdered Max, his wife and his son. As Goodkat concludes the story, he promptly snaps the man's neck in the bus terminal and puts him in the back of a truck.
In New York City, Slevin Kelevra (Josh Hartnett) answers the door to his friend's apartment and meets neighbor Lindsey (Lucy Liu), who observes that Slevin is not Nick Fisher, the apartment's renter. Slevin relates that he lost his job, found out his apartment was condemned, and caught his girlfriend cheating on him so he decided to visit Nick in New York. Slevin confesses he has not seen Nick, and that the apartment was unlocked when he arrived.
Moments later after Lindsey leaves for work, there is another knock at the door and Slevin is kidnapped by two henchmen, who take him to The Boss (Morgan Freeman), a powerful crime lord who has mistaken Slevin for Nick and orders him to repay Nick's hefty $96,000 debt to the gang. As an alternative to payment, the Boss offers Slevin the option of murdering Yitzchok The Fairy, the homosexual son of rival Jewish crime lord Schlomo The Rabbi (Ben Kingsley). As Slevin leaves the building, we see that the police are watching and alert Detective Brikowski to the presence of "a new face in town".
Slevin returns to Nick's apartment and is again kidnapped by henchmen, this time two orthodox Jews from the opposing gang. The Rabbi also mistakes Slevin for Nick and also demands he pays Nick's sizeable $33,000 debt to him within 48 hours. As Slevin leaves, Goodkat appears and confirms that the Rabbi will pay him to kill the Boss.
Slevin returns to the Boss and agrees to kill the Fairy. The Boss gives him three days, Slevin asks for a week and the Boss challenges him to a chess match for the extra time. The Boss tells Slevin that the Fairy wears a Star of David pendant which conceals a hidden alarm; when activated the Fairy's bodyguards respond in under 4 seconds. To get around this, the Boss recommends that Slevin approach the Fairy romantically to get inside his apartment.
Slevin and Lindsey go out to dinner, allowing them to consider their mutual attraction and to allow Slevin to survey the Fairy, who dines several tables away. Excusing himself, Slevin approaches the Fairy in the restrooms and exchanges phone numbers for a future date. Returning home, Slevin spends the night in Lindsey's apartment. In the morning, Lindsey goes to work and Slevin is picked up by the Boss' henchmen. As they leave we see that the Rabbi's henchmen have been shot. That night, Slevin visits Yitzchok the Fairy at his apartment and shoots him. Goodkat appears and helps Slevin get rid of the evidence by blowing up the apartment.
Goodkat visits the Boss, kills his henchmen and bodyguards, and takes the Boss hostage, while Slevin kidnaps the Rabbi. Hours later, both the Boss and the Rabbi awake, restrained to chairs in the Boss' penthouse and quarreling with each other over the deaths of their sons. It is revealed that the two mobs, having formerly been united, split in 1984 after the Rabbi, jealous of the Boss's growing power, ordered his death. The assassination attempt killed the Boss's wife and left him with six bullet wounds, but the Boss and his young son survived. The Boss tells the Rabbi his son Yitchok is dead in retaliation for the Rabbi killing his son. The Rabbi claims he had no hand in the Boss's son's death.
Their squabbles are interrupted by Slevin, who explains how Goodkat killed Slim and Slevin killed Benny in order to find a name in each book who owed both mob bosses money: Nick Fisher. The man Goodkat killed in the terminal is revealed as the true Nick Fisher and Slevin as the one who murdered the Boss's son. Goodkat manipulated the resulting gang warfare and job offers from both sides in order to allow Slevin, as 'Nick Fisher', to gain access to both crime lords' heavily fortified apartments.
The story of 'Max' from the beginning is revealed as that of Slevin's father. Goodkat was Meanwhile, Brikowski gets a phone call and learns that "Lucky Number Slevin" was the name of horse Max bet on earlier in the movie. Max's bookie included Max's bet in a fixed race meant only for the Boss and the Rabbi. Once they found out someone else was included in the deal, they killed Max, his wife, his son and his bookie. Goodkat had been hired to kill Max's son, revealed to be Slevin, because no one else would take the job. However, upon meeting the young Slevin, Goodkat decided not to kill him.
Back in the penthouse, Slevin realises that both the Boss and the Rabbi were responsible for his father's death. As payback, Slevin slides plastic bags over both the Boss's and Rabbi's heads and asphyxiates them in the same manner his father was killed. Outside, Detective Brikowski, revealed in a flashback as the gunman that shot Max's wife, is shot in the head by Slevin. With his father's death now avenged, Slevin settles back into everyday life.
The film closes with a short flashback showing Goodkat and the young Slevin Goodkat shortly after Max's death. Goodkat takes Slevin into his car and tells him that it will be a long time before they can return to New York.
Cast
- Josh Hartnett as Slevin Kelevra
- Morgan Freeman as The Boss
- Sir Ben Kingsley as The Rabbi
- Lucy Liu as Lindsey
- Bruce Willis as Mr.Goodkat/Smith
- Stanley Tucci as Detective Brikowski
- Sam Jaeger as Nick Fisher
- Rick Bramucci as Soldier
- Kevin Chamberlin as Marty
- Oliver Davis as Henry
- Victoria Fodor as Helen
- John Ghaly as Police Officer
- Janet Lane as Blondie
- Shira Leigh as Hottie
- Mykelti Williamson as Sloe
- Dorian Missick as Elvis
- Sebastien Roberts as Man
- Christopher Maxwell Kramer as The Fairy
- Peter Outerbridge as Detective Dumbrowski
- Robert Forster as Murphy
- Corey Stoll as Saul
- Matthew G. Taylor as Man
- Danny Aiello as Roth
- J. D. Jackson as Mugger
- Jennifer Miller as Slevin's Girlfriend Kelly
Awards and nominations
- Nominated: Outstanding Sound Editing - Feature Film
- Milan International Film Festival
- Won: Best Film (Paul McGuigan)
- Won: Best Actor (Josh Hartnett)
- Motion Picture Sound Editors, USA
- Nominated: Best Sound Editing for Music in a Feature Film
- Nominated: Best Sound Editing for Sound Effects and Foley in a Foreign Film
See also
References
- ^ "Lucky Number Slevin (2006)". Box Office Mojo. http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=luckynumberslevin.htm. Retrieved December 9, 2009.
External links
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Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Lucky Number Slevin |
- Official website
- Lucky Number Slevin at the Internet Movie Database
- Lucky Number Slevin at Allmovie
- Lucky Number Slevin at Rotten Tomatoes
- Lucky Number Slevin at Box Office Mojo
- Watch: Red Carpet Premiere, NYC, on independentfilm.com
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