Sin City (2005)

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Sin City is a 2005 crime noir and ensemble film directed by Robert Rodriguez. It is based on the titular graphic novel series by comic book author Frank Miller, who also co-directs along with guest director Quentin Tarantino. The film is notable for its highly stylized visuals, meant to replicate the high contrast black and white drawings of the original comic book.

The film adapts three popular stories from the Sin City series: The Hard Goodbye (Originally "Sin City"), The Big Fat Kill, and That Yellow Bastard.

Brief Overview

Sin City is based on a series of graphic novels by Frank Miller and is almost fully true to the source material, with most scenes being near identical to their original panels. Later films, like 300 and Watchmen, would adapt the same true-to-panel ideas. The film was shot entirely on a digital backlot which allowed director Robert Rodriguez more flexibility with key elements such as like lighting: needed to successfully translate the black and white contrasts of the original.

Stories

The Customer Is Always Right

"She only goes stiff for a moment..."

The suave, young Salesman (Josh Hartnett) shares a romantic embrace with a troubled young woman (Marley Shelton), who she has presumably hired to kill her: which he does.

That Yellow Bastard (pt. 1)

"Hell of a way to end a partnership."

Officer John Hartigan (Bruce Willis) goes out to save a young Nancy Callahan (Makenzie Vega) from a child raping/murdering Roark Junior (Nick Stahl), the son of a U.S. Senator (Powers Boothe), before being forced into retirement. After confronting him, Hartigan shoots Junior and castrates him: only to be shot himself by his intervening partner (Michael Madsen). Hartigan is left to die at the dock as Callahan cuddles next to him: now safe.

The Hard Goodbye

Meet Marv. Mediated psycho killer and trench-coat enthusiast.

Modern-day juggernaught and medicated two-time loser Marv (Mickey Rourke) awakens from a one-night stand with a gorgeous woman named Goldie (Jaime King) who he finds dead at her side. Framed for murder, he goes on a spree of torture and murder to find her real killer, despite the please of his parole officer, Lucille (Carla Gugino). The information he receives from hitmen, money launderers, and even a corrupt priest (Cameo by Frank Miller) lead him to a farm outside of town owned by the powerful Roark family. The farm home is to the mute serial killer, Kevin. (Elijah Wood)

^Alternate ending to "Return of the King".

After Kevin knocks him out, Marv comes to in the farm's basement, where he is greeted by a shaken Lucille, who had her began her own investigation, only to have her hand eaten by Kevin. There, he learns that Kevin kills and eats his victims, usually prostitutes and his crimes have been covered up by the Roark family and the Basin City Police. Additionally, he learns that Goldie was actually a high-class prostitute. The two escape the basement, only to run into a group of mercenaries who kill Lucile but fail to kill Marv. He learns that Goldie's murder was ordered by the state's most powerful figure: Cardinal Patrick Henry Roark. (Rutger Hauer)

Meet Wendy. Goldie was "the nice one".

Learning from Lucille that Goldie was a high-class prostitute, he makes his way to the Oldtown: Basin City's self-enforced red light district. There, he is assaulted by Goldie's twin sister, Wendy, and interrogated. She had attacked Marv earlier, thinking that he was responsible for the deaths of Goldie and the other prostitutes killed by Kevin After convincing his captors of his innocence and rearming himself, he returns with Wendy to the farm to kill Kevin. Beating him up, he hacks off his legs and arms and feeds his living body to his pet wolf: never screaming or flinching. Afterwards, he makes his way to Patrick Roark's mansion, where he reveals that not only did he order the murder of Goldie, but also covered up Kevin's murders: even admitting to partaking in some of his cannibalism. Accepting his fate, he allows Marv to strangle him to death. When his bodyguards show up, they shoot Marv.

Marv lives to be interrogated by police and being forced into 'confessing' after they threaten to murder his mother. Not only is he charged with Roark's murder and his own killings, but for the deaths of Lucille, the prostitutes, and Goldie- all for which he is sentenced to death for. On the day of his execution, Wendy arrives at his cell and they have sex. Afterwards, he is strapped to the electric chair. After the first jolt fails to kill him, which he taunts the guards for, the second kills him.

The Big Fat Kill

Meet Dwight. He's Shellie's new boyfriend and out of his mind.

Barmaid Shellie (Brittany Murphy) is being harassed by her abusive ex-boyfriend, Jackie Boy (Benicio Del Toro) and his posse. With her is her new boyfriend, Dwight (Clive Owen) , who threatens Jackie Boy and tries to drown him in Shellie's toilet. Jackie Boy, humiliated, leaves the apartment with his crew. Dwight chooses to follow, fearing that he may try to kill someone if he doesn't, as Shellie screams for him to "stop".

Just chuck a grapefruit at him, Dwight.

Dwight follows Jackie to Oldtown: a self-enforced red light district where, because of a treaty, cops are off limits in exchange for free entertainment. There, the prostitutes kill Jackie Boy and his posse after he pulls a gun on a young prostitute named Becky (Alexis Bledel). As the girls go through the pockets, Dwight is horrified to find a police badge in Jackie Boy's pocket. As it turns out, Jackie Boy was a seasoned police detective and a "hero cop". This causes concern because according to the treaty, the mob “stays out” and while only cops who are "shopping" are allowed in the area, they're not welcome but are sent back alive. To prevent war, Dwight volunteers to dispose of the bodies: planning to dump them in the tar pits of an old dinosaur-themed amusement park. On the way there, he hallucinates a conversation between him and Jackie's corpse. When he gets there, mercenaries employed by the mob attack him. After being saved by Miho (Devon Aoki), she, Dwight, and another prostitute, Dallas (Patricia Vonne), catch up with the mercenaries, kill them, and retrieve the head of Jackie Boy, which the mercenaries had served from his body

"My Valkyrie, my warrior woman."

As this is happening, their leader Manute (Michael Clarke Duncan) takes Oldtown's leader, Gail, (Rosario Dawson) captive, using force to convince her to surrender the territory. It is revealed that Becky had betrayed Oldtown by selling them out to the mob to protect her mother: only for Maunte to break the deal. Before she, and Gail, can be executed: Miho fires an arrow with a note that tells the mercenaries to meet with Dwight in an alley out back. He offers a trade: the head of Jackie Boy for Gail. When he trades the head for Gail, he presses a button that sets off a grenade that was lodged on the mouth of the head, which he covered with duct tape. Before the mercenaries can react, the girls of Oldtown gun them all down from the rooftops.

That Yellow Bastard (pt. 2)

Alone.

While recovering in the hospital, John Hartigan (Bruce Willis) is is confronted by Senator Roark (Powers Boothe), the father of the child rapist he shot and castrated. Instead of killing him, he forces Hartigan to take the rap for his son, who is now in a coma, and threatens to use his power to kill anybody he tells the truth to. Hartigan is thrown in prison and locked up in solitary confinement; Roark hoping it'll break him. But he stands tall, refusing to confess to his "crimes", despite having his reputation in pieces. All the while, he receives letters from Nancy, now his lone supporter and friend, who writes under the penname "Cordillia". He takes the letters as his sole comfort, until they eventually stop coming in.

Here Comes the Bastard

Eight years later, a grotesque disfigured man with bright yellow skin visits Hartigan in his cell. He says nothing to Hartigan and simple knocks him out cold. When the tired cop comes to, he finds a letter that contains a freshly severed finger. Immediately, he fears that Roark had caught on to Nancy. Fearing for her safety, he finally surrenders and admits to being a child molester. After his immediate release, Hartigan returns to town where he finds Nancy (Jessica Alba), alive and well, working as an exotic dancer. After he unwillingly reunites with her, the two seem safety. But the yellow man has been following Hartigan the whole time, and tries to kill him as the leave town. After escaping to a cheap motel, Nancy admits his love for Hartigan, which he refuses. While Hartigan takes a cold shower to get back his composure, he is again attacked by the yellow bastard, who had hid in the back of Nancy's car. He speaks to Hartigan, and reveals himself as the now disfigured Roark Junior (Nick Stahl).

Anyone who threatens to chop up Jessica Alba deserves to have their head beaten in.

Junior drugs Nancy and ties Hartigan to a hangman's noose. He explains that his looks were the result of his father's attempts to grow back Junior's genitalia, which was ultimately successful. With that, Junior kicks the table out from under him and leaves the cop for dead. But Hartigan uses his energy to swing over to the hotel room's window, break it apart, and use the glass to cut the rope. When Junior's henchmen arrive to dispose of Hartigan's corpse, they are instead forced to tell him that Roark is at the family farm. Hartigan steals the henchmen's car, equips himself with their weapons and makes his way to the farm. But on the way there, the symptoms of his heart condition return, hindering his progress and telling him that he'll be dead very soon. Even with a couple of gunshot wounds he receives from dispatched guards, Hartigan makes it to the barn where Roark is keeping Nancy. There, Hartigan tricks Junior into getting up close and personal, just so Hartigan can stab him with a switchblade. Hartigan then rips off Junior's genitals and beats his head into a bloody mess of pulp and bone.

The two exit the farm and make their way to Hartigan's car where he assures Nancy that he'll use his power to clear his name and finally bring Senator Roark to justice and bids her farewell. But this is an outright lie: there's no lawyer in the state who would go after the powerful Roark, who is now without a son. He knows that Roark will seek retribution against him and he fears that he will hurt Nancy to get it. To end the whole thing once and for all, Hartigan commits suicide.

Epilogue

Becky, having survived the massacre in Oldtown, calls her mother to reassure her that she's all right. But in reality, she's sick of running and, possibly, is hurt by the deaths that she caused. Once boarding an elevator, she is confronted by the Salesman, offering a cigarette and a way out.