Review of Perdita Durango (Uncut)

Introduction

Perdita Durango is the story of two maniacs who embark on a black magic, road-killing spree on their way to deliver foetuses to a boss-eyed gangster in Las Vegas.

The foetuses are for soap-making purposes, well what else would they be for?

And if that storyline seems a bit bonkers just wait until you meet the cast.

Perdita Durango (Rosie Perez) and Romeo Dolorosa (Javier Bardem) are the two maniacs in question.

Romeo is drawn to Perdita while attempting to cross the Mexican/American border after a serious bank robbery where he sexually molests one of the cashiers.

It`s a bizarre thing for a bank robber to do mid-blag but it shows the mind of the man we are about to meet.

By night Romeo is a black magician who carries out the odd human sacrifice in front of crowds of likeminded psychopaths - a lovely evening`s entertainment that compliments his day job perfectly.

Perdita`s a hustler. Fatally sexy but hard as nails, she is more than capable of looking after herself and is ever so slightly bloodthirsty.

Fuelled by a recurring nightmare of being torn alive by the jaws of a wild animal, she persuades Romeo that it would be a great idea to kidnap, murder and eat someone on their way to fulfilling Romeo`s carbolic contractual obligations.

It can`t just be anyone though; they must be tall, blond and muscular.

So they kidnap, on a packed street, Duane (Harley Cross) who`s, erm, blond, but they make up for his shortcomings by also kidnapping Estelle, (Aimee Graham) who`s also blonde.

Duane and Estelle are high school sweethearts, the apple-pie prom king and queen who are about to start college and begin the American dream.

Romeo and Perdita have other ideas for them however.

The group are also being tailed by DEA agent, Woody Dumas, (James Gandolfini) "from up there in Dallas," and his partner Doyle (Alex Cox).

Gandolfini is typically great in his role, the character reminds me slightly of Marvin Dorfler (John Ashton) in Midnight Run, he`s so accident prone he gets run over, beaten and almost flattened by an articulated lorry.

The two leads are also very good. This is probably Perez`s finest performance to date and Bardem seems to revel in Alex De La Igleisa`s, Tarantino-style direction. Check out Screamin Jay Hawkins as Adolfo as well.

All of the characters are so complex and so well written though it must be like a dream come true for any actor to be asked to take on any of these roles.

Fans of Tarantino, and in particular, From Dusk till Dawn will probably love the style of this film, as will those who enjoyed the bloodlust of Natural Born Killers.

Another close relative is David Lynch`s Wild at Heart.

Perdita Durango was a character played by Isabella Rossellini in that movie and like Wild at Heart it is very character driven.

Both movies rely heavily on the strength of the well-written characters to compensate for a patchwork, unorthodox storyline and of course they originated from the pen of the same novelist, Barry Gifford.

Perdita definitely has the edge when it comes to shock factor though, the scariest thing about Wild at Heart was probably Nicholas Cage`s hair.

Video

There is some very nice direction and camera angles in the film. Just check out the shot when Romeo first sees Perdita - in the reflection of a CD cover.

Audio

Dolby Digital .The soundtrack is a mix of voodoo-style, African drum and Mexican music. Very fitting though considering the storyline.

Features

Subtitles - Main language is English

Set up Menu

Trailer

Perdita Durango at the BBFC - this is just a load of text about Perdita`s first screening in front of the BBFC.

Conclusion

Although this film is probably well on its way to becoming a cult classic, and I can kind of understand why some people are praising it so highly, I don`t buy it - for me it doesn`t quite make the grade.

It`s a good film, pleasantly different, darkly funny at times, and surprisingly enjoyable, but not a classic.

I can imagine the book would be better though as the characters are so interesting and your imagination runs wilder when engrossed in a good novel.

Strong characters are not the entire recipe for a great film, they can turn a mediocre script into a good film and I think that`s the case with Perdita.

The performances are very good, direction is very good and it has a good style to it but I lost sight of, and interest in the story.

If it didn`t have Bardem, Perez and especially Gandolfini it would be a lot, lot worse though.

If you like your films gory and if you like From Dusk till Dawn then I would definitely recommend this as it`s is very similar in all things, otherwise it`s definitely worth a look but don`t believe the hype.