During the second half of the twentieth century, there were very few American film makers who could hold a torch to Brian De Palma. With the likes of Carrie, Scarface, Carlito’s Way, Blow Out, The Untouchables and Body Double he produced a mixture of muscular box office smashes and stylistic cult favourites. Over the last twenty years his output has stuttered and dropped off, both in quality and popularity. His new film, Domino, continues this trend.
Christian (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) and Lars are policemen (Søren Malling) and partners working in Copenhagen. Over the years working together they’ve built up a fast friendship. However, neither are particularly sticklers for rules and regulations, especially the younger more reckless Christian. One day, rushing out of his apartment to start a shift, he forgets his gun. When the pair answer a call to apprehend a man (Eriq Ebouaney), this will prove to be a deadly error.
Whilst Domino contains glimpses of the flashy brilliance which characterised much of his earlier work, it feels clunky, slap-dash and lazy. Issues in post-production led De Palma to distance himself from the film, and you can see why. It feels unbalanced, unhinged and has obviously been significantly cut. There are some good moments and interesting ideas but Domino largely feels rushed, blunt and is highly derivative.
Domino is released on Blu-ray, DVD and Digital HD by Signature Entertainment on 5 August.
