The most confusing thing I've ever watched.

It's a complex movie, but that's what makes it so great along with the actors they got (Meaney and Gambon in this case) as well as the amounts of violence. After the way Mr. X came off with the gun, trying to shack up with Tammy, being well dressed in the suits, and being gritty, its no surprise Daniel Craig got the 007 role.

There's a lot of characters to keep track of as well as a couple of twists here and there. I'll admit I had to watch it a second time just to make sure I didn't miss anything, but its a wonderful film once you know what is going on.

"Does it look like I give a damn?" - James Bond

Yeah, just watch it again. It took me a 2nd viewing to really digest all the moving pieces.

Dragan's boss wanted two things - his drugs back, and the Duke's head, for stealing the drugs in the first place.
He got the Duke's head, in the cooler that XXXX handed over to him at the statue toward the end of the movie (nighttime scene on the bench). XXXX handed over the head just after the two crooked cops "confiscated" the drugs from the warehouse in the raid. Since the cops had the drugs (and Dragan didn't know they were crooked cops, in on the whole scheme), and since Dragan's boss was already manufacturing millions more replacement drugs, Dragan just let it go.
So XXXX and his associates were in the clear, as far as Dragan's boss was concerned.

to the OP---

2 suggestions:

watch it again

next time leave the subtitles on


i understand what you mean because i was the same way when i first saw it. i also would like you to read my 'improves like wine' thread.

thanks

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"Where.... can I put my ash?"

Are you American? As an American I found it a bit confusing at first because a lot of the dialogue is unintelligble due to accents and slang. But watching it over again it becomes fairly clear.

Here's the plot outline


XXXX is a drug dealer working for gang boss JIMMY PRICE. Jimmy's right hand man is GENE (Colm Feore). A lesser gangster called THE DUKE steals a large batch of extacy pills from a bunch of Serbian war criminals turned gangsters operating in Amsterdam. Duke brings his score back to Britain to unload them on XXXX and his crew. Meanwhile the Serbians send a hitman named DRAGAN to kill the Duke and return the pills. Dragan begins tracking the Duke, killing people along the way. At the same time, Jimmy instructs XXXX to find a girl Charlie, the daughter of Jimmy's friend EDDIE TEMPLE a rich industrialist. Jimmy claims that this is a favor for Eddie.

After meeting with The Duke, XXXX learns the story behind how the pills got there. Realizing that the pills are radioactive they go back to find the Duke but he's gone. As his people search for The Duke and for Charlie he's kidnapped by Eddie Temple who tells him that Jimmy lost millions of dollars in a failed African investment and is in desperate need of cash. He also plays XXXX a tape which proves that Jimmy is working as an informant for the police and intends to give up XXXX to them to save his own skin. Pissed, XXXX goes and kills Jimmy with a gun which Gene had given him for protection. Gene finds out that XXXX killed Jimmy when a corrupt cop gives him the ballistics report which links the gun that killed Jimmy to the murder of Crazy Larry, a gangster who Gene had killed in the 1970s using the same gun. After XXXX convinces Gene that Jimmy was an informant they try to assassinate Dragan who is demanding their pills back. XXXX learns that Gene, not Dragan, killed The Duke. They concoct a scheme to solve everything. They stage a fake raid on the storehouse where they've got the pills. The fake police take the pills. XXXX gives Dragan the severed head of The Duke as way of compensation.

Earlier XXXX had made a deal to sell the pills to Eddie Temple. But Eddie double crosses them and just takes the pills. At the end we see XXXX newly elevated to wealthy status saying that even though he's in a position to take over Jimmy's criiminal enterpriise he's getting out of the game as he had planned all along. As he leaves the club, self confident and bragging about how great he is he is shot by SYDNEY, the nephew of the Duke whose girlfriend XXXX had stolen away


"Unless Alpert's covered in bacon grease, I don't think Hugo can track anything."

excellent write up there is no sayed.

The only thing i dont get then is why gene killed the duke. Thats the only bit i dont get

to the OP--

i completely understand.

i had similar response my first time. but i caught it again on ifc and another time, and as the deep story subtexts began to dawn on me, i liked it more and more. now, it is one of my all time fave movies, period.


i say, if you are american, watch it again with subtitles on. i have seen it 50 times and i still use the subtitles. the accents are just too damn think not too.

also, without being too harsh on them since i know they did not mean it, the producers went with a literary script which is a thing that does not translate very well into cinematic performing. (in other words, it was a book and they let the novelist write the screenplay, and he did not know how to) in the copmmentary they said the script ended up being something like 450 pages.they there is enough testament to the fact that it was a literary script.

so what does that mean to you?

it means that the story is not delivered visually, and that a LOT of important details are inferred (a big no no with film) and introspected.

but....

but....

i add this:

if you will give it a chance, and rewatch, marking the characters' journeys, decisions, poistures toward each other.... you will end up seeing what a great film it is. it is a literary film, which is what puts people off.

the casting was good, the music astounding, and the 'pickle' of the plot (subtle though it may be) is quite conflicted and full of tension. the only issue for us as yanks is that we have to dig a bit harder to ascertain what that plot is.

i agree that the plot is not up front.


but anyway, give it a try and hit us back. me? i personally think daniel craig knocked it outta da park


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behold, sublime genius: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLPe0fHuZsc

I think the incredibly confusing nature of this film isn't entirely accidental.

The international drug trade involves a hell of a lot of murky characters who aren't quite what they seem to be, and their motives are always changing and aren't always clear. There are many complete idiots who are actually quite successful for some time, and other people who are involved at a high level for years (police chiefs, businessmen, etc.) and no one knows it. That would make the telling of the story necessarily confusing and somewhat nonsensical, and not a lot like another episode of Murder She Wrote.