Sin City Ending Explained & Film Analysis

Sin City was originally a series of comics by artist Frank Miller, which was adapted into a film adaptation in 2005. Robert Rodriguez managed to bring this comic to life without losing all the charm of the original novel. The visual style of the film was conceived as as close as possible to the original source.

What is the movie about

With the exception of the prologue and epilogue, the film itself consists of 3 separate stories that take place in the fictional city of Basin-City.

Story One – “That Yellow Bastard”

Detective Hartigan (played by Bruce Willis) is on his last day as a cop in pursuit of a pedophile maniac, Roark Jr. The latter is sure of his impunity, because he is the only and dearly beloved son of the senator of the city. Roark Jr. is sure: all his actions will go unpunished. Hartigan saves the last victim of a pedophile, 11-year-old girl Nancy, and maims the offender. Hartigan’s partner, bought with senatorial money, shoots the hero in the back. At Hartigan’s trial, he is sentenced to 8 years in solitary confinement. The only thing that supported him all the years in prison were the letters of the rescued girl Nancy. When she stopped writing, Hartigan fell into despair. It so happened that he was released from prison and then he completes what he started, killing the maniac and himself, cutting off the Roark family from any opportunity to get to the girl.

Story two – “The Hard Goodbye”

The central character of the second story was a guy named Marv (Mickey Rourke). One day, he woke up in bed with a dead girlfriend, Goldie. The police, suspecting Marv of the murder of his girlfriend, begin to pursue him. Tom manages to escape and his task is to calculate the real killer in the person of Cardinal Roarke.

Story Three – “The Big Fat Kill”

The protagonist Dwight guards the prostitutes of the Old City. Dwight protected his new girlfriend from antagonist Jackie Boy. He and his gang go to the Old City, where he begins to threaten the prostitute Becky with a weapon. Because of this precedent, Jackie-Boy is killed by Miho, a hit girl. But no one knew that Jackie Boy was a policeman. A struggle flares up between the Syndicate, which has long dreamed of seizing power over the old city, and prostitutes led by Dwight and Gale. It is noteworthy that Quentin Tarantino was invited to work on the bloodiest part of the film.

The meaning of the movie Sin City

Sin City, Basin City, lives up to its name. The central issue of the picture is the confrontation between good and evil. The main characters personify original saviors in the world of dirt and evil. They are trying to fight for their ideals. The motivation of the characters is pretty banal. This is the defense of honor, the defense of one’s interests, the fight against criminal power. However, a happy ending is not typical of Basin City stories. Often heroes die, even if their death is unfair.

The style of the film is ideally suited to the plot: gloomy black and white tones are occasionally diluted with color details. These details are designed to show the liveliness of each hero, to reveal his character.

About everything and nothing

In other words, the film by Robert Rodriguez does not have any hidden meaning, designed to reach everyone. The director initially had a goal – to transfer the style of the comic book to the screen as best as possible. He coped with the task with a bang: literally every film critic praised an image that was indescribable and unlike other films.

What’s so special about Sin City? No dialogue, no plot, no deep characters. This is an amazing style that takes the viewer into the vicious world of Basin City. However, is it possible to justify an average quality candy with a beautiful wrapper?

Sooner or later, the viewer, especially those who are not familiar with comics, understands the dryness and hackneyedness of the plot. Unpredictability is great. But it should not distract the viewer’s attention from the obvious shortcomings of the film. In defense of the artist and part-time screenwriter Frank Miller, it is worth saying that the comic came out back in the early 90s. It’s a classic, but a classic that won’t suit everyone.

The lack of meaning in the picture is more than compensated by a charming combination of beauty and a huge amount of blood and cruelty.

Meaning of the movie’s ending

The ending of the movie makes you think. In the elevator, a nameless killer, dressed in a doctor’s coat, meets with a prostitute, Becky, who has escaped from the old city. The girl is talking on the phone, but the killer distracts her and offers her a cigarette. Fear is read in the girl’s eyes – she understands that she is about to die. The phrase: “I love you, mom” means that the girl says goodbye to her mother forever.

In conclusion, let’s say that “Sin City” is a film from the “art for art’s sake” series. Action is good, even more than. But you should not look for any meaning in it.

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