The film centers on the seemingly endless bad luck of Slevin Kalebra (Hartnett), a man with a shadowy past who appears to find himself in progressively worse situations. After losing his job, his girlfriend, and his wallet due to a mugging, Slevin decides to hole up at the apartment of his friend Nick Fisher (Sam Jaeger), only to discover that Fisher has mysteriously disappeared. When neighbor Lindsey (Liu) stops over to borrow a cup of sugar, her intense curiosity and conspiracy theories initially entertain Slevin, who assumes his friend has simply gone out for a while. It is soon obvious, however, that Lindsey isn’t the only one searching for Fisher.
Fisher is a hapless gambler who owes a lot of money to exactly the kind of people you do not want to owe money to. In a case of mistaken identity, two thugs arrive at Fisher’s apartment and abduct Slevin, despite his protests that he is not Nick Fisher. Slevin is taken to the urban fortress of The Boss (Freeman) to settle the debt, and is therefore dragged into the dark underworld war between the Boss and his rival gangster, the Rabbi (Kingsley). The Boss’s son has recently been assassinated, and the Boss believes the Rabbi is to blame. Slevin is told that in order to settle his debt with The Boss, he must kill the Rabbi’s son in retaliation.
But the bad luck for Slevin doesn’t end there. When he returns to Fisher’s apartment, he’s met again by gangsters, this time working for the Rabbi. Slevin is again abducted and taken to the urban fortress of the Rabbi, comically right across the street from the Boss! It turns out that Fisher also owes the Rabbi a considerable sum, and the Rabbi gives Slevin 48 hours to pay the debt. Underpinning the story is the mysterious world-class assassin Mr. Goodkat (Willis), who is at work behind the scenes in Slevin’s misfortunes. Slevin must develop a plan to save himself without being caught between the city’s biggest and most dangerous crime bosses.
The story is driven primarily by its gifted actors. Liu’s character Lindsey advances the drama with her quirky performance and serves as Slevin’s love interest. Willis is perfectly suited for the frightening and mysterious Mr. Goodkat, and he excels in the background masterminding the story’s events with minimal screen time. Hartnett plays the role of Slevin expertly as a wise-cracking, fast talking, take-it-as-it-comes protagonist who is anything but what he seems. The script is witty, clever, and very well crafted. But, the performances of Freeman and Kingsley really set this movie apart. Freeman does perhaps his best work when he plays a villain, and this movie is no exception. The role of the Boss suites him perfectly and he really delivers an expert performance. Kingsley is amazing in his portrayal of the Rabbi. His delivery alone adds another dimension to the script, and frankly, Kingsley steals the show in a way that only Ben Kingsley can.
The twists and turns of Slevin aren’t the most unpredictable, but they are pieced together well. This is a good story made great by the talent of the actors, and it is extraordinarily entertaining watching the masters of their craft perform throughout. The film paces well, without lagging too long on unimportant events, and it is just deceptive enough to keep the viewers on their toes. The action is intense, the sarcastic wit serves well for comedic relief, and there’s even a little love story thrown in for good measure. Clever, thoughtful, and completely entertaining, you can’t beat Slevin for an enjoyable 110 minutes, especially as a cheap 99 cent rental.