Celebrities have a nasty habit of giving their kids names that will get them beaten up on the playground; lately, we've seen such winners as Apple, Coco, and Scout. But before all of them, there was Domino.
Named after a Bond girl from one of the lesser-known Sean Connery spy thrillers, 1965's "Thunderball," Domino Harvey was in for more than just a few black eyes. The real life subject of Tony Scott's latest action oeuvre, aptly titled "Domino," was the product of a short marriage between acclaimed British actor Laurence Harvey (best remembered for his work opposite Sinatra in 1962's "The Manchurian Candidate") and supermodel Paulene Stone, a union that ended abruptly with Harvey's untimely death when Domino was only four.
Cut to 15 years later: the grown-up Domino (Keira Knightley), after unsuccessful stints as a sorority girl and fashion model, is riding in the back of a souped-up RV with a one-armed hostage - her South American lover - and two washed-up "Beverly Hills, 90210" stars. How did that happen, exactly? Scott tries to fill in the blanks, but as the opening credits warn, he isn't always true to the real story.
Apparently, Domino didn't deal with her father's death well and decided the life of a Hollywood wild child wasn't cutting it. No, the only real thrill was to live just enough outside of the law that she could, as she puts it, "have some fun," but wouldn't get caught. The answer (of course): become a bounty hunter.
Scott's film, though unfaithful, earned the real Domino's seal of approval as a gritty, no-holds-barred stylistic gem that captured her spirit if not the actual events of her life. Known more for his polished, Denzel Washington-infused action films, Scott turns in an absolutely breathtaking work in "Domino."
The camerawork is rough, uncensored, and completely disorienting, keeping viewers as tense and on-edge as if they, too, were living the volatile life of a bounty hunter. Yellow filters play with reality, skewing every scene to reflect the dirty, seamy underbelly of East L.A. criminal life that becomes Domino's world. Nobody said bounty hunting was a glamorous job.
The screenplay itself, courtesy of the delightfully warped Richard Kelly (2001's "Donnie Darko"), is mesmerizing. Grounded in the present day, when Domino's fast life has finally come crashing down in an FBI-led ruse, Knightley narrates a series of flashbacks as she tells her story to the annoyingly straight-laced investigator (Lucy Liu). The story skips about as much as the first "Mission Impossible" (1996) movie, but it delivers the same gut-wrenching conclusion.
Of course, without the right cast of talents, Scott would have been up a creek in a really nice canoe, but without a paddle nonetheless. Enter sweet little Keira Knightley, the pixie-ish beauty that lent an air of playful rebelliousness to films like "Bend it Like Beckham" (2002) and "Pirates of the Caribbean" (2003) but was never more defiant than, say, your average Disney princess.
Domino is a 180-degree turnaround from any character Knightley has portrayed, yet she handles the switch with chilling believability. Her Domino is layered, vulnerable, and tough to the core, but she lacks the pretentiousness that mars most female action figures.
Yeah, she's a girl in a man's world, but Knightley never lets "Domino" become a film about feminism. Her new character knows how to use machine guns, nunchucks, and the F-word, and while she might not be proud of herself, she certainly hasn't got anything to hide.
The supporting cast behind Knightley is probably one of the motliest crews to ever man a Hollywood production, but that's bounty hunting for you. Mickey Rourke continues to resurrect his career with his portrayal of Ed, Domino's protective but slightly pedophilic mentor. In his American film debut, Edgar Ramirez plays foil to Rourke's tough guy, turning in a softer performance as the other bounty hunting rookie who falls for Domino's bold attitude.
And then there's Christopher Walken, who can't do anything but improve a film's cast. For a guy who usually plays characters with a touch of Rain Man eccentricity, Walken's role as a snooty television exec who tries to turn Domino's life into a reality show is a walk on the tame side, but he does it without any stuffiness and a generous portion of his trademark wit.
Sadly, the real-life Domino Harvey died of a drug overdose before the film was completed, but the movie is a fitting tribute to one woman's story of loss, love, and living life like you mean it. Whether it's true or not doesn't matter; "Domino" immortalizes everything its namesake stood for.
