The Limey: Movie, DVD Review (2008)

Directed by Steven Soderbergh, written by Lem Dobbs, 89 minutes, rated R.

Even Los Angeles is no match for a limey.

As tough and as unseemly as the city looks in Steven Soderbergh’s outstanding film, “The Limey,” it pales next to the tougher, wild-eyed vision of Wilson (Terrence Stamp), a steely, silver-haired British ex-con who descends on Los Angeles with a gun in his hand, revenge in his heart and a burning mission in his gut: Find the man responsible for his daughter Jenny’s death and make him pay for it.


If none of this sounds especially new, it isn’t; the film owes its soul to the works of Raymond Chandler and Chester Gould. But Soderbergh nevertheless is able to spark his film by evoking the past--literally.

In an effort to give Wilson a history, Soderbergh lifts key scenes from Ken Loach’s 1967 film, “Poor Cow,” which starred a much younger Stamp. The effect is mesmerizing, seamless --and smart. By wedding the two films, Soderbergh not only shows his audience how Wilson’s thievery impacted his relationship with his daughter, but also, in an unexpectedly gentle scene where Wilson plays his guitar for Jenny and her mother (Carol White), how affable Wilson was before the repercussions of his profession took their toll on him and those in his life.

With superb performances from Stamp, Fonda, Leslie Ann Warren, Barry Newman and Luis Guzman, “The Limey” is more complex, focused and visually assured than Soderbergh’s last film, “Out of Sight.” It’s also more knowing, particularly with Wilson, an older man from an old country whose old ways make mincemeat out of the players in Los Angeles.

Grade: A

(Originally published 1999)