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Review by Jack Foley |
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DVD SPECIAL FEATURES: Theatrical trailer; Outtakes.
THE hitman enjoyed something of a renaissance in 1999, judging by the likes
of Leon and Grosse Pointe Blank - and Jim Jarmusch's Ghost Dog: The Way of
the Samurai sat worthily alongside the former two as an interesting variation
on a well-used theme.
Forest Whitaker stars as the assassin of the title, a ghost-like contract
killer for the Mob who lives on a rooftop surrounded by pigeons and who meticulously
follows the Samurai code.
When a contract goes wrong - he is spotted by the daughter of one of the Mob
bosses - the Mafia turn on the loner and attempt to wipe him out without reckoning
on how he will fight back.
By taking a familiar premise and infusing it with some typically offbeat moments
and quirky characters, Jarmusch has delivered a highly efficient picture which
never becomes boring or routine in the slightest.
By mixing elements of Mob culture, hip-hop flicks and the Samurai way of life,
the director manages to breathe new life into a genre which was in danger
of becoming stagnant - squarely hitting the target with each idiosyncratic
moment.
Whitaker shines as a result, creating a memorable loner whose existence is
enlivened only by his dealings with Camille Winbush's young book-lover or
Isaach de Bankole's delightful French speaking ice-cream salesman, who counts
Ghost Dog as his best friend even though the two do not share a common language.
The Mobsters, also, are a wildly amusing bunch prone to watching cartoons
in their spare time, while bickering over the difficulty of tracing their
virtually invisible foe. Jarmusch's choice of actor is also first class, bringing
in the likes of Henry Silva (The Manchurian Candidate), Cliff Gorman (Hoffa)
and John Tormey to add some welcome familiarity to their roles.
If Ghost Dog feels a little slow in places, then this too seems deliberate,
allowing the audience to gain some fascinating insights into the differing
cultures while more than delivering on the action front when the time comes
for Ghost Dog to ply his trade.
Like its central character, Ghost Dog seems destined to remain largely out
of sight from mainstream audiences, but it is certainly worth searching out
because it has so very much to offer. Fans of the genre will not be disappointed.
