.co.uk

"You know the difference between right and wrong. You just don't care."

-- Falcone (Roy Scheider)

Romeo Is Bleeding is a mixed bag of violence, misogynism and comedy (the latter I'm still trying to figure out whether or not it was intended). At times, its unpredictability is quite fascinating; other times, you may find that its uneven tone is incredibly annoying.

The story revolves around Jack Grimaldi (Gary Oldman), a dirty cop who does favours on the side for the mob to boost his income. He has a wife named Natalie (Annabella Sciorra) within the safety of his own home, as well as a girlfriend named Sheri (Juliette Lewis) who he is keen to practice his fantasies with. Life to him is sweet.

Inevitably, things are about to get a hell of a lot worse when Russian assassin Mona Demarkov (Lena Olin) arrives on the scene. Mob boss Falcone (Roy Scheider) orders Grimaldi to kill her, but her seductive nature becomes too much for the crooked cop to handle. He becomes stuck in the middle of two powerful crime figures, both of whom are competing with one another for power, and he must decide whose money he is going to take.

Romeo is Bleeding is an ambitious movie in combining the elements of police corruption, love and lust, and wealth. There are a handful of serious moments (one of which is a particularly memorable conversation between Grimaldi and his wife about the concept of happiness and money), though when the film decides to be less-serious, it ultimately becomes ridiculous. At times, you get the impression that the movie wants you to take it seriously, but then something completely bizarre happens that makes you think otherwise (Olin's character ends up in a BDSM suit with one arm).

It's hardly an ordinary movie, but it's hardly brilliant one, either. Oldman's performance is so uncanny that he makes you wonder whether or not he's right for this (his voiceover was so long-winded at times that it started to give me a headache). Juliette Lewis and Rob Scheider are decent in their small roles, but Mona Demarkov as the Russian assassin is undoubtedly the star of the show with her over-the-top performance.

I like films that bring random surprises, but the incomprehensibility of some scenes mixed with the seriousness of others just didn't work for me. Its ambitious and quite intriguing with its ideas, though ultimately lacking in substance. My feelings are currently ranging from extremes of love to extremes of hate for this film, so I'm gonna split it down the middle and give it a nice, even three stars.

(C) Andy Carrington, 2009.