Domino falls by the wayside

Domino falls by the wayside

Keira Knightley essays an uncharacteristic role of a gun-toting and a chain-smoking bounty hunter in Domino. Though the role does not require her to summon her acting prowess beyond looking hot and throwing the odd occasional scorns, it must be admitted that Knightley does it with élan.

Based loosely on life of Domino Harvey, daughter of British actor Laurence Harvey of The Manchurian Candidate fame and model Paulene Stone, it is a loud movie about a rebel who turns down offers from Hollywood and fashion ramps to become, of all things, a bounty hunter. She died at the age of 35 last June from a fentanyl overdose.

The movie which is supposed to glorify the life of Domino, whose life was far from dull, does no justice to that aspect. Director Tony Scott goes overboard by giving his imagination a free reign. His attempts to do a Quentin Tarantino also fall by the wayside. Richard Kelly, the writer, also abets Scott in this unsubtle rendition which actually leaves you feeling no sympathy for the character in the end.

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Coming back to the film, we learn that Domino moves from London to Beverly Hills, which she despises from the very outset, with her mom shortly after her father's death. She finds the life of Ed Mosbey (Mickey Rourke) appealing, so she gets associated with him and his pal Choco (Edgar Ramirez).She achieves fame rather quickly in this field, when she gets the coveted title of 'Bounty Hunter' for the year 2003. Post-fame, the life and so also the film portraying it become too hot to handle. They get embroiled with the mob, an Afghani freedom fighter and loads of action which includes onslaught of gunshots.

If you are wondering where the film goes wrong, Keira Knightley comes to our rescue by saying: "The film is fiction. But as far as I know, it's based on complete truth." The director and scriptwriter both mislead each other making the film an unforgettable exercise in futility.