Susan Granger’s review of “Domino” (New Line Cinema)
Tony Scott chooses style over substance in this convoluted tale that’s “sort of” based on a true story about British actor Laurence Harvey’s (“The Manchurian Candidate”) daughter Domino.
Sexy, rebellious Domino Harvey (Keira Knightley) leads dual lives: a privileged socialite and a notorious bounty hunter. Her story unfolds as she’s being questioned by an FBI psychologist (Lucy Liu). After her father dies, her mother (Jacqueline Bisset) moves to Beverly Hills, leaving Domino thirsting for adventure. Responding to an ad for bounty hunters, she joins a grizzled old pro (Mickey Rourke) – “the father I never had” – and his Latino sidekick (Edgar Ramirez), who become her dysfunctional family. Her notoriety intrigues a TV producer (Christopher Walken) and his assistant (Mena Suvari) who concoct a reality series, hosted by “90210’s” Ian Ziering and Brian Austin Green, in which she tracks bail jumpers and drug dealers, along with sassy clerks (Mo’Nique, Macy Gray, Shondrella Avery, Joseph Nunez) churning out fake ID’s at the DMV.
Director Tony Scott (“Man on Fire”) and screenwriter Richard Kelly (“Donnie Darko”) jumble her story by altering the timeline, jumping forward, then flashing back, delineating a plethora of sleazy plots that seem to be looking for a purpose. Confusion is heightened by Scott’s endless shoot-’em-ups, jump editing and tricky, flashy colors. As a result, the performances are one-dimensional and disjointed, adjacent to one another, never cohesive. (Domino’s real-life mother was model Paulene Stone and her stepfather was restaurateur Peter Morton. On June 27, 2005, at age 35, Domino died of an overdose of Fentanyl, a painkiller.) On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Domino” is an edgy, hyper-kinetic, trippy 3. “Heads, you live. Tails, you die.”
