The Crow is not as remembered as frequently as a movie than as the demise of a budding star. Brandon Lee was tragically killed during a prop-gun mishap on the set, effectively ending his acting career before it even got off the ground. Despite its reputation as Lee’s last film, The Crow stands on its own as an interesting Alex Proyas piece of darkness and mood.
Without the signature cinematography, The Crow would be simply another tale of revenge, a style that has played out in myriad movies from westerns to martial-arts films. Oddly enough, The Crow is both a western and a martial arts film. Lee’s character Eric Draven is killed after witnessing the brutal rape and murder of his fiancé, and is brought to life through supernatural means. His enemies are a posse of roughnecks who terrorize a less-than-fair city of grime, hard concrete, and continuous rain. Guided by a watchful and mysterious crow, Draven begins a vendetta that will only stop when the blood of all the perpetrators has been spilled. It’s Dodge City given a ghoulish makeover of black leather and trickling water, with the cowboy trading in his spurs for white and black makeup. Loads and loads of violence ensue while Draven tries to complete his mission and those he’s attacking try to halt his progress.
The overwhelming visual despair of the film is its strongest asset. The performances are passable, but the heavy-handed gothic dialogue is a bit much at times. A line like “mother is the name for God on the lips and hearts of all children” can be nothing but clunky no matter who is delivering it. Yet it’s not the dialogue or the character relationships that drive the film. It’s the crushing weight of the city that we feel throughout Draven’s heartbreaking quest to kill, with the splattering rain every step of the way. Rain is a powerful element in film, bringing a gravity of dourness seen in such movies as Blade Runner and Se7en. The sun shines only once through the movie, through a broken window still stained with Draven’s blood. There are no rainbows in this city, but it is not without hope.
Gunfights and seedy characters, metal music and tattoos. It’s a comic book adventure brought to life through skillful adherence to despair-ridden decay of situation. However you slice it, The Crow is a mood piece. One that is gorgeous in its darkness.
