“Lucky Number Slevin” is a crime comedy about a man who wakes up in a hotel room with a gun in his hand and no idea why. Jay Mohr plays the title character, a mild-mannered accountant mistaken for someone else. The film follows him through a day of escalating threats, betrayals and near-misses, all while he tries to find out who put him there and why.
Trailer, via Vertigo Releasing.
The Setup
Slevin is told to collect $1 million for a mob boss named Nick Waters, played by Bruce Willis. He refuses. Then the phone rings again, and he is instructed to kill a man named Lionel Laxter, played by Ben Kingsley. He refuses again. By the end of the day, he is fighting for his life against everyone who wants him dead.
The setup is simple. The execution is chaotic.
The Chaos
The film moves at a fast clip, cutting between Slevin’s escapes and the people chasing him. Willis plays Waters with a calm menace, and Kingsley plays Laxter as a quiet, dangerous man of great patience. The supporting cast includes Oded Fehr as a hitman named Hap, and Marisa Tomei as a neighbor who helps Slevin hide. The film leans on quick dialogue and visual gags, mixing the violence with jokes about movies themselves.
The tone is deliberately uneven. One scene can be darkly serious, and the next is a pratfall. That mix is the point.
What Works
- The performances are strong across the board. Mohr carries the lead with a nervous energy that sells the comedy.
- The script, written by Anthony Bagarozzi and Chuck McKean, balances the action with a clear sense of stakes.
- The editing keeps the pace tight, rarely letting a scene run past its welcome.
What Doesn’t
The plot relies on coincidence and convenience. Slevin happens to know the password to a safe deposit box, and he knows exactly where to go to find the money. These moments strain credulity, and the film leans on them heavily.
The ending is also a letdown. After building the tension for nearly two hours, the resolution feels rushed and anticlimactic.
Schedule of Events
| Time | Event |
|---|---|
| Morning | Slevin wakes up in the hotel room |
| Midday | He meets Nick Waters and Lionel Laxter |
| Evening | He fights his way through the mob |
| Night | He escapes the hotel |
The film runs 103 minutes, which is just enough time to get through the setup and the chase, but not enough to resolve everything neatly. That brevity is both a strength and a weakness.
“Lucky Number Slevin” is a solid, if uneven, crime comedy. It is smarter than most films in the genre, willing to play with expectations and make jokes about the conventions of the thriller. It is also a bit messy, leaning on convenience where it should lean on craft.
The film earns a 7.5 out of 10.
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