Lucky Number Slevin
| Lucky Number Slevin | |
|---|---|
 Promotional theater poster |
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| Directed by | Paul McGuigan |
| Written by | Jason Smilovic |
| Starring | Josh Hartnett Bruce Willis Lucy Liu Morgan Freeman Ben Kingsley Stanley Tucci |
| 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) | February 24, 2006 (UK) April 7, 2006 (USA) |
| Running time | 110 minutes |
| Language | English |
| Budget | 27-30,000,000USD |
| Gross revenue | 56,308,881USD 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 Josh Hartnett, Morgan Freeman, Ben Kingsley, Stanley Tucci, Lucy Liu and Bruce Willis. Set in New York City, the plot focuses on the paths of Slevin Kelevra (Hartnett), Lindsey (Liu), two feuding mafia bosses known as The Boss (Freeman) and The Rabbi (Kingsley), and a mysterious hitman known as Mr. Goodkat (Willis).
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Synopsis
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 the waiting area of a bus terminal, a young man is approached by Goodkat (Bruce Willis), who tells the story of Max, a family man who bets borrowed money on a fixed horse race. Unknown to Max, the mobsters financing the fix discover others betting on it and, to set an example and solidify their reputation, murder Max and his entire family. As Goodkat concludes the story, he promptly snaps the man's neck.
In New York City, Slevin Kelevra (Josh Hartnett) answers the door to his friend's apartment and meets bubbly neighbor Lindsey (Lucy Liu), who observes that Slevin is not Nick Fisher, the apartment's renter. Relating to her a sequence of events that lead him to Fisher's apartment, Slevin confesses he has not seen Nick, and that the apartment was unlocked when he arrived. Lindsey expresses concern over Nick's absence and vows to investigate his disappearance before leaving for work.
Moments later, Slevin is kidnapped by two henchmen, Sloe and Elvis (Mykelti Williamson, Dorian Missick) who take him to The Boss (Morgan Freeman), a powerful African-American mafia lord who has mistaken Slevin for Nick and orders him to repay Nick's hefty $96,000 debt or as compensation, to murder Yitzchok the Fairy, the homosexual son of rival Jewish mafia lord The Rabbi (Ben Kingsley), the Boss's former partner responsible for murdering the Boss's son. As Slevin leaves to consider his options, the Boss meets with Goodkat, who outlines his plan to kill both Yitzchok and Slevin and make their deaths appear as a murder/suicide pact between two gay lovers. Slevin returns to Nick's apartment, where he is promptly kidnapped by two more henchmen who take him to The Rabbi, who 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 with the Rabbi their contract to kill the Boss.
At Nick's apartment, Lindsey updates Slevin about her reconnaissance at the hotel, tracing the phone calls to the room of Mr. Smith, whom she discreetly photographs with her cellular phone. Showing Slevin the photograph of Smith, now revealed as Goodkat, Slevin says he doesn't recognize him. Hours later, Slevin and Lindsey go out to dinner, allowing them to consider their mutual attraction and to allow Slevin to survey Yitzchok, who dines several tables away. Excusing himself, Slevin approaches Yitzchok in the restroom and exchanges phone numbers for a future date. Detective Brikowski then confronts Slevin in the bathroom, telling him that he knows Slevin is not Nick Fisher, as Nick Fisher is on police records as a pedophile who had been incarcerated. Returning home, Lindsey invites Slevin to spend the night at her apartment. In the morning, as Slevin considers his plan to murder Yitzchok, he is abducted a third time and shoved into an undercover police van, where he is interrogated by Detective Brikowski (Stanley Tucci) who has been observing both the Boss and the Rabbi and the arrival of Goodkat, an infamous hitman. Acknowledging that Slevin is not Nick, Brikowski releases Slevin with a warning.
The next night, Slevin visits Yitzchok at his apartment and shoots him. As Yitzchok lays dying on the ground, Goodkat appears from behind and offers Slevin the keys to his van, which contains the body of the man from the waiting terminal, now revealed as Nick Fisher. Slevin and Goodkat dump Fisher's body next to Yitzchok's and depart, minutes before an explosion engulfs the apartment, disfiguring the bodies.
| Ratings | |
|---|---|
| Argentina: | 16 |
| Australia: | MA |
| Brazil: | 16 |
| Canada (Alberta): | 18A |
| Canada (BC/SK): | 18A |
| Canada (Ontario): | 18A |
| Canada (Manitoba): | 18A |
| Canada (Maritime): | 18A |
| Canada (Quebec): | 18A |
| Finland: | K-15 |
| France: | U |
| Germany: | 16 |
| Hong Kong: | IIB |
| Iceland: | 16 |
| Ireland: | 18 |
| Italy: | T |
| Malaysia: | 18PL |
| Mexico: | C |
| Netherlands: | 12 |
| New Zealand: | R18 |
| Norway: | 15 |
| Portugal: | M/16 |
| Romania: | 15 (TV) |
| Singapore: | R21 |
| Spain: | 18 |
| Sweden: | 15 |
| Thailand: | 18 |
| United Kingdom: | 18 |
| United States: | R |
Goodkat visits the Boss, killing his bodyguards and taking the Boss hostage, while Slevin kidnaps the Rabbi. Hours later, both the Boss and the Rabbi awake, restrained to chairs and quarrelling with each other over the deaths of their sons. It is revealed that the two mobs, having formerly been united, split 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. Their squabbles are interrupted by Slevin, who explains, through a series of connected flashbacks, how he and Goodkat were responsible for the assassination of both the Boss's and the Rabbi's bookies, each with books containing Nick Fisher, who owed both men money. As Goodkat killed Fisher in the airport, Slevin murdered the Boss's son from afar, prompting the Boss to hire Goodkat to kill the Rabbi's son in retaliation. Slevin assumed Fisher's identity as Goodkat met with the Boss and agreed to kill Yitzchok, asking that Nick Fisher be included as a pawn in his plan. Later, Goodkat met with the Rabbi and offered to murder the Boss to save the Rabbi's son. The Rabbi accepts the terms and per Goodkat's instructions, meets with Fisher to collect his debt. Thus, Goodkat plays the mobsters off one another and allow Slevin access to both mobster's heavily fortified apartments.
In the penthouse, Slevin reveals his motivations for this complex plot; his father was Max, who was murdered along with his wife for the 1979 horseracing incident at the Aqueduct Racetrack described at the beginning of the film, and whose killers are now revealed to have been the younger Boss and Rabbi. Goodkat, hired to murder the young Slevin, spared him, choosing instead to train him over the years to orchestrate his revenge. Simmering, Slevin slides plastic bags over both the Boss's and Rabbi's heads and asphyxiates them. Later, Detective Brikowski answers a call from a fellow officer, who after looking at Slevin's surveillance picture recalls more details about the 1979 incident; that the boy was never found and that "Slevin" was the name of the horse. Brikowski, revealed in a flashback as the gunman that shot Max's wife, realizes who Slevin really is moments before Slevin appears in the back seat and shoots Brikowski.
Goodkat ambushes Lindsey because she can now identify Goodkat, Slevin is told she must die. Apprehensive about the notion, Slevin instructs her to wear body armor and a squib to protect her from Goodkat's bullets and fool him into thinking she died. In the closing scene, Goodkat tracks Slevin and Lindsey to the airport. Slevin explains he didn't think Goodkat would understand, to which Goodkat responds that he would have (while remembering his first meeting with Slevin). He then returns to Slevin the watch that was planted on Nick's corpse, which belonged to Slevin's father, before disappearing.
The film closes with a short flashback showing Goodkat and the young Slevin. Goodkat takes him into his car, where Slevin plays with his father's watch and is told that it will be a long time before they can return to New York. They turn on the radio and hear the song "The Kansas City Shuffle".
Cast
- Josh Hartnett — Slevin Kelevra
- Morgan Freeman — The Boss
- Sir Ben Kingsley — The Rabbi
- Lucy Liu — Lindsey
- Bruce Willis — Mr.Goodkat/Smith
- Stanley Tucci — Detective Brikowski
- Sam Jaeger — Nick Fisher
- Rick Bramucci — Soldier
- Kevin Chamberlin — Marty
- Oliver Davis — Henry
- Victoria Fodor — Helen
- John Ghaly — Police Officer
- Janet Lane — Blondie
- Shira Leigh — Hottie
- Mykelti Williamson — Sloe
- Dorian Missick — Elvis
- Sebastien Roberts — Man
- Michael Rubenfeld — The Fairy
- Robert Forster — Murphy
- Corey Stoll — Saul
- Matthew G. Taylor — Man
- Danny Aiello — Roth
- JD Jackson — Mugger
Awards and nominations
Milan International Film Festival:
Motion Picture Sound Editors, USA:
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References
See also
External links
- Official site
- Lucky Number Slevin at the Internet Movie Database
- 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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