Click to read the article
The Limey (1999)
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work ![]()
Reviews Counted:78
Fresh:71
Rotten:7
Average Rating:7.4/10
Consensus: Terence Stamp's flinty performance oozes style and substance.
Runtime: 89 mins
Genre: Dramas
Synopsis: With THE LIMEY, director Steven Soderbergh has crafted a stylish revenge thriller that also contains a refreshing sense of humor. Wilson (Terence Stamp), a tough English ex-con, travels to Los... With THE LIMEY, director Steven Soderbergh has crafted a stylish revenge thriller that also contains a refreshing sense of humor. Wilson (Terence Stamp), a tough English ex-con, travels to Los Angeles to avenge his daughter's death, which he is convinced was not accidental. After meeting Ed (Luis Guzmán), a friend of his daughter's who sent him a letter informing him of her passing, he finds out about her affair with Terry Valentine (Peter Fonda), a drug-dealing, money-laundering record producer, and begins to hunt him down. Partnered with Ed as well as Elaine (Lesley Ann Warren), his daughter's former voice coach, Wilson encounters a near-fatal beating, is thrown from a building window, survives a dangerous car chase, and battles an army of L.A.'s toughest criminals. Soderbergh's follow-up to the critically beloved OUT OF SIGHT finds him in similar neo-noir waters, but this time he utilizes atypical editing and narrative technique for the film's entirety. In a striking move, he ingeniously incorporates footage of Stamp as a young man in Ken Loach's 1967 film POOR COW for truly realistic flashbacks. As the fuming Wilson--a hell-bent, white-haired avenging angel--Stamp proves, once again, to be a truly magnetic screen presence. [More]
Starring: Terence Stamp, Peter Fonda, Lesley Ann Warren, Luis Guzmán
Starring: Terence Stamp, Peter Fonda, Lesley Ann Warren, Luis Guzmán, Barry Newman, Joe Dallesandro, Nicky Katt, Amelia Heinle, Melissa George
Director: Steven Soderbergh
Director: Steven Soderbergh
Screenwriter: Lem Dobbs
Producer: John Hardy, Scott Kramer
Composer: Cliff Martinez
Reviews for The Limey
It's an interesting quest but there's no escaping that this is an overly familiar plot dressed up with some fabulous sun-kissed cinematography by Ed Lachman.
The film is subtly stolen by Amelia Heinle, joining such actresses as Andie MacDowell, Elisabeth Shue, Betsy Brantley and Jennifer Lopez as the latest in a line of Soderbergh's saving graces.
It's a taut indie that brings to mind those revenge-minded Charles Bronson flicks of the '70s.
I was distracted to the point of contention at several points in The Limey by cinematic technique. I must write that Stamp’s mesmerizing performance eventually drew me back in, every time.
A well-made film and a disturbing reminder to those of us who haven't yet made disastrous choices like Wilson did.
It gets big league status because Soderbergh cast it so superbly and allowed his stars to develop the nuances we need to get emotionally caught up in their cat-and-mouse games.
Personally, I couldn't take my eyes off the screen, and found The Limey's evocative debt to films like John Boorman's Point Blank, as well as to its leading men's key work from that era, absolutely mesmerizing.
The Limey is for people who don't mind a little art with their movie and don't need all their questions answered along the way.
Soderbergh fans will rejoice. The rest of the world will scratch its collective head.
It'll serve as perhaps the final reminder of what was once [Soderbergh's] great career.
The Limey is no treasure. At best this one would have to be called Nineties Noir, or Noir Lite.
Latest News for The Limey
July 20, 2007:
Catalina Sandina Morena Joins Soderbergh's Che Films
Did you know that Steven Soderbergh was making a movie about Che Guevara? Starring Benicio Del Toro in the title role? Yeah, me too. But somehow I missed the news that he was... More...
More DVDs
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 95% 95% | Star Trek |
| 14% 14% | The Ugly Truth |
| 67% 67% | Bruno |
| 98% 98% | Up |
| 46% 46% | My Sister's Keeper |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 32% 32% | Terminator Salvation |
| 44% 44% | Night at the Museum: B… |
| 86% 86% | A Christmas Tale |
| 60% 60% | Paper Heart |
What’s Hot On RT
Other News
Sponsored Links
Around The Network
- The Limey at Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh Links
Featured

Subscribe to RT's YouTube channel and don't miss a second of our cracking video content.

Follow Rotten Tomatoes and join us as we tweet about the week's releases.



Top Critic

