Man On Fire film review

certificate_18

MAN ON FIRE

It is possible to be seduced by the glossy sheen of a film. Hollywood's slick veneer is often used to conceal blemishes. In the case of Man On Fire, it's the slick coating applied by director Tony Scott which ultimately prevents a real connection between the audience and the story. All the ingredients exist for a thoroughly absorbing drama; a strong plot and intriguing characters, but the desire to please and impress stop Man On Fire short of fulfilling its potential.

The man on fire is Creasy (Denzel Washington), a former Marine who is hired by a couple in Mexico City to protect their young daughter from the plague of kidnappings that have infected the city. His murky past as an assassin has driven him to drink and the Bible in his quest for peace. When they fail him, he attempts suicide. All of which, in the hands of the always absorbing Washington, who plays him with a quiet intensity, make Creasy an enigmatic, complex figure.

When his exuberant charge Pita (Dakota Fanning) treats him with the affection he's long been starved of, it "showed him it was okay to live again," reflects Creasy's old military friend Rayburn (Christopher Walken). The danger of rekindling his emotions is unleashed with bloody consequences when Pita is kidnapped and Creasy goes on a murderous vendetta to avenge her abductors.

Shot in grainy, saturated colour, Man On Fire adopts a stylized look which, along with the liberal use of text flashed on screen for emphasis, heightens the sense of artifice. Brian Helgeland's fast moving adaptation of A.J. Quinnell's novel is punctuated with bravado like "Creasy's art is death. He's about to paint his masterpiece."

At the film's core lies a beguiling character, one whose tough exterior belies a yearning to be loved. But having exposed a refreshing sensitivity, the film reverts to typical heroic invulnerability. The scenes of Creasy single-handedly taking on the might of the Mexican underworld and emerging virtually unscathed are usually the domain of comic books.

Man On Fire is tightly wound with strong performances, both from Fanning and Washington. The tender scenes between the two represent the emotional heart of the film, but its beat is too often drowned out by the sound of Scott's loud direction.