Sin City ****

Frank Miller's Sin City
Brutal and beautiful would be the best way to describe Frank Miller's work, and Robert Rodriguez (El Mariachi, Spy Kids) brings the pages of Miller's "Sin City" graphic novels to life in this faithful film adaptation. Originally skeptical about the project, Miller came around after Rodriguez showed him the opening sequence/test reel featuring Josh Hartnett (taken from the short story "The Customer Is Always Right"). Rodriguez fought to have Miller named co-director, and Miller even makes a short-lived cameo as a priest. Miller is also known for the "Batman: The Dark Knight Returns" comic book series from the late eighties.

An all-star cast convincingly fleshes out the hard-boiled characters that populate the gritty streets of Sin City. Though the film is actually a conglomeration of several different books, Mickey Rourke's Marv is the central figure in the movie. Bruce Willis, Clive Owen, and Benicio Del Toro play the other male leads, with Michael Madsen and Elijah Wood among the supporting actors. Nick Stahl (Carnivale) is amazing as the twisted Yellow Bastard. Even more plentiful than the men, are the voluptuous vixens played by Jessica Alba, Rosario Dawson, Jaime King, Brittany Murphy, Alexis Bledel (Gilmore Girls), and Marley Shelton (as The Customer). Carla Gugino's nude scene (as Lucille) is probably enough to make most men liquify.

Like Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, Sin City was shot on an entirely "digital backlot." The actors were shot against a green screen, and the backdrops were inserted later. This gives the movie a stylized look that could be manipulated by the filmmakers in post-production, including the splashes of color that offset the black and white tableau. Rodriguez, who scored this movie with Graeme Revell, took out guest directorial duties from his pal Quentin Tarantino in trade for the scoring Rodriguez did for Kill Bill Vol. 2. I'm not sure which scene Tarantino directed, though I suspect it was the scene with Miho. Tarantino, also a fan of Frank Miller, was eager to check out the all-HD camera setup that Rodriguez has come to love.

Sin City is not your parents' film noir. It's a blood and guts art film that only the likes of Robert Rodriguez, Frank Miller, and Quentin Tarantino could bring you. I'll be seeing it again this weekend.

My friend Jay joined me for the original screening on opening weekend. Check out his review here.

See the Comments section for my follow up after a second screening, and a list of the books each segment of the film is based on.