.45 (2006)

Director:

Gary Lennon

Writer (WGA):

Gary Lennon (written by)

Release Date:

30 November 2006 (Greece)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Nobody does revenge like a woman.

Plot:

A story of how obsession, addiction and abuse leads a young woman (Jovovich) to execute an elaborate plan of revenge.

Plot Keywords:

Man | Criminal Act | Black White Relations | Abusive Relationship | Beating

Cast

Milla Jovovich	...	Kat
Angus Macfadyen	...	Big Al
Stephen Dorff	...	Reilly
Aisha Tyler	...	Liz
Sarah Strange	...	Vic
Vincent Laresca	...	Jose (as Vincent LaResca)
Tony Munch	...	Clancy
Kay Hawtrey	...	Marge
John Robinson	...	Cop #1
Tim Eddis	...	Cop #2
Hardee T. Lineham	...	Father Duffel (as Hardee Lineham)
Dawn Greenhalgh	...	Fran
Nola Augustson	...	Gertie (as Nola Auguston)
John Gordon	...	Danny
Shawn Campbell	...	Original Owner

MPAA:

Rated R for pervasive strong language including graphic sexual references, violence, sexuality and some drug use.

Runtime:

101 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

Singapore:R21 (cut) | Portugal:M/16 | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | Greece:K-17 | South Korea:18 | Finland:K-15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Junction Films

Trivia:

Heather Graham was considered for the role of Kate.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Al pushes Kate back against the table after she has been touched by Jose, she is pushed onto mustard covered bread. When he pulls her off the table to push her against the wall, the sandwiches are gone.

Movie Connections:

References "60 Minutes" (1968)

Soundtrack:

Gritty Man

What a find!

I am a voracious viewer of DVD's. I stalk my video store for new releases, and I will rent just about anything regardless of hype, trend or word of mouth. When I saw Milla Jovovich sitting on the cover of the splashy DVD for the new release of .45 with a gun, I said I asked myself, "why not?" I searched out a few more "bad girl" titles to make the evening a theme, and once I got through the two other cookie cutter Hollywood Tarantino-esquire "grind-house" titles and finally popped in .45, I was pleasantly appalled and equally as surprised. Appalled by the fact that the dangerous behavior of the two main characters (Milla and Angus Mcfayden) was definitely performances that I wasn't used to seeing in mainstream American fare, but surprised that the filmmakers finally got what has been missing in film lately.

I cut my teeth on Scorsese, Casavettes and the unflinching cinema usually found in foreign films from the 70's and 80's. What the film ".45" does is reminds me that there are great ideas, writing and film-making in America, if only the corporations that run them give filmmakers a chance.

Sure .45 is vulgar, and at times hard to watch, but one of the most remarkable scenes in the film (the beating) shows that through performance and craftsmanship one can be truly horrified by brutality of a situation without actually seeing a person totally annihilated. Kudos to Milla Jovovich whose performances have been marginal for perhaps her entire career. Thank goodness the director saw something in her to give her the opportunity to play in a role that is at times transformative. The supporting cast is stellar, and seeing the woman who plays Milla's turkey kicking mother is well worth the price of the rental. It's strange to see this film in the video store and not released in an actual theater. Or perhaps I blinked… RENT THIS!