Starring: Benicio Del Toro, Ryan Phillippe, Juliette Lewis
"So are you the brains of this outfit, or is he?"
"To tell you the truth, I don't think this is a brains-type of operation."
"The Way of the Gun" is Christopher McQuarrie's directorial debut, and his first full-length feature written since he penned "The Usual Suspects". In my own personal opinion, "The Way of the Gun" stands out as one of my favorite movies of all time, primarily due to McQuarrie's amazingly written dialogues between his characters. Each line comes across as smart, well informed, and quick witted. His conscience decision to make his shootouts as realistic as possible stem from his Navy SEAL brother, and come across on-screen so true to life that it resonates with every bullet fired.
The story follows two professional criminals (Del Toro and Phillippe) who kidnap a pregnant surrogate (Lewis) for a very powerful man (Scott Wilson). Upon finding out of the kidnapping, bodyguards (Nicky Katt and Taye Diggs) are sent along with a bagman (James Caan) to try to retrieve the girl.
What makes "Way of the Gun" stand out, is the subtlety in which the chases and shootout take place. The overall tone of the film is quiet and modest. Because it follows mostly professionals, when a gun battle does take place, there isn't macho screaming and "rambo-esque" style shootings. Instead, you get a glimpse into a realistic world of trained shooters. If a gun on screen has 12 shots in real life, the actor gets to fire 12 shots before needing to reload.
The quiet tones also help to make the dialogue pop on screen. The conversations between Parker (Phillippe) and Longbaugh (Del Toro) are some of my favorite ever put to film. Whether discussing the nuances of playing Hearts as a way to coerce their kidnapped victim to tell the truth or trying to come up with a plan to stay alive, McQuarrie's script is played out beautifully by a gang of amazing actors.
Admittedly, "The Way of the Gun" isn't for everyone. However, being a fan of subtle humor and as much realism as possible in film, it continues to stand near the top of my favorite films of all-time.
Individual Ratings
Enjoyment Factor: 10
Dialogue: 10
Acting: 10
Direction: 9
Audio/Visual: 8
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