A Copenhagen police officer seeks justice for his partner’s murder by a mysterious man.
Veteran director Brian De Palma is almost 80 years old and thankfully still working behind the camera. His latest film, “Domino,” is a straight-to-VOD contemporary action thriller. I was a bit skeptical upon reading little fanfare or buzz seemingly due to its production and financing issues when it was being made. His signature flourishes are on full display, towering jib shots ratcheting up the tension, claustrophobic close-ups of a character’s face with an intended target or impending doom lingering in the background, and a sinister voyeur gazing through binoculars, capturing the action with a riveting classical score. All of these classic setups and devices made me realize how much the actual craft of film has been missing in larger budget action movies.
“Domino” is initially set in Denmark in the near future of Summer 2020. Christian (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) is a Danish detective who is close with his soon-to-be-retired partner Lars (Søren Malling). Lars’ retirement plan is to move with his ill wife to the Canary Islands (which I think beats Murtaugh’s boat). Things are set in motion when the two respond to a domestic call and are confronted with a blood-smeared suspect. While Lars remains with the suspect in custody, Christian realizes he forgot his service weapon at home and borrows his partner’s gun. He enters a flat and discovers suicide belts among crates of bright red Spanish tomatoes and a dead body with its throat brutally cut open. The suspect is Ezra Tarzi (Eriq Ebouaney), a Libyan expatriate looking to settle the score with an elusive ISIS leader. Tarzi escapes custody severely wounding Lars, and with Christian in pursuit, a rooftop chase ensues. The two men lumber awkwardly after one another at a realistically slow pace that actually increases the pressure. After they fall to the ground, Christian in a concussed daze, watches Tarzi dragged away by two well-dressed strangers. It turns out Tarzi is a coerced asset for the CIA whose handler is Joe Martin (Guy Pearce). Pearce plays the role perfectly with a healthy dose of authoritarian arrogance. Martin wants Tarzi to capture the ISIS leader, Salah Al-Din (possibly an homage to the famous Islamic conqueror Saladin of the Crusades) and has no problem using Tarzi’s own family as leverage.
Alex (Carice van Houten) is a detective that volunteers to help with the case since she has a personal connection to Lars. Alex and Christian partner up and the two head Southwest to Spain. Their road trip was very nice and nostalgic for me with locations filmed in Antwerp and Holland. I am from Holland and grew up briefly in Antwerp so seeing the familiar looking streets, signs, and colors was a pleasure. In a refreshing change, I really appreciate how futile Christian’s actions are compared to the “one-man band” Tarzi. Ebouaney puts in the most effective performance. His action scenes are well choreographed and I was rooting for his character. Typically I feel like most Hollywood pictures would have the blue-eyed white lead as the savior.
In the film’s lean running time it certainly captures a large canvas of the current and potentially endless “War on Terror.” Although when reading of the production issues I feel like there are about 20-30 minutes of footage that could’ve formed this into a great film. Regardless, there are many memorable moments, especially a gut-wrenching scene where Salah Al-Din diabolically directs an attack on a film festival via Livestream. The rhythm accelerates akin to Hitchcock thrillers of yesteryear. All through a camera mounted on the assault rifle, he tells the attacker who to shoot until she is surrounded and detonates her suicide vest. For “Game of Thrones” fans, it’s a delight to see Jamie Lannister and Melisandre working together and in real life, Pearce and Van Houten are married with a child. Of course, it wouldn’t be a De Palma picture without a grandiose set-piece filmed in slow motion. I hope the maestro De Palma continues directing and according to his recent interviews, he won’t be returning to film in Denmark ever again.
Available on Blu-ray™ (plus Digital), DVD, and Digital July 30th from Lionsgate
