Give ‘Em Hell, Malone is a strange beast. It mixes classic and modern noir, seems somewhat based in the real world and somewhat in its own little universe, and tells a story that simultaneously manages to seem quite clever and a bit silly at the same time.
Thomas Jane plays tough as nails private investigator Malone, a man who sometimes seems to have lost touch with reality and lives in a world of constant violence and anger. He gets embroiled in a mystery when a suitcase said to contain the meaning of love comes into his possession. A local mobster is said to be very interested in what’s inside, but Malone wants to know what’s going on before giving it up.
Of course there’s also a broad, in the form of Elsa Pataky’s Evelyn, who comes to Malone looking for her brother. However this being film noir, nothing is at appears, and as Malone finds out more, his life gets ever more dangerous.
Malone is undoubtedly an odd movie. It’s like it’s swallowed a dictionary of film noir clichés and then thrown them up to create something familiar yet different. Its love of noir staples taken to the extreme sometimes makes the whole thing seem a bit ridiculous, with everything amped up to 11, to the point where it occasionally edges dangerous near to farce. This would probably have been completely fine if the movie had a consistent tone, but it half seems to be based in the ‘real’ world and half in a cartoonish universe of outlandish characters, such as an orally fixated Asian teen assassin and a scarred nutjob called Matchstick, who’s obsessed with fire.
I was initially expecting these different styles and elements to come together, because it initially seems like there’s eventually going to be method in the discordant madness, but it never really does. What it is, is essentially a giant OTT romp, and it’s undoubtedly enjoyable on that level, even if you can’t escape the feeling a bit more work on the script could have made it more fun and a lot smarter.
The performances are very variable. Thomas Jane is great as Malone, to the point where he almost seems born for this sort of hard-boiled role. The likes of Ving Rhames and Leland Orser are also very good, however Elsa Pataky is more problematic. It’s not that she’s bad, just that she seems to pretty much sleepwalk through the role, being less sultry and mysterious than blatantly duplicitous and bored. However it’s Doug Hutchinson as Matchstick who really lets the side down. While he’s playing a cartoon-ish OTT bad guy, he mugs and hams it up to the point where he starts actively sucking the entertainment off the screen whenever he shows up (which mercifully isn’t too much).
To be honest, I’m not entirely sure what to say about Give ‘Em Hell, Malone. It is a bit of mess – both real and silly, stylish and disjointed – with little of it giving the sense that there’s a cohesive vision designed to bring everything together. Yet it is fun, so that the fast-paced narrative and Jane’s dedication to the role manages to brush aside the movie’s shortcomings.
By the time the credits rolled, I was as mixed up as the film, because I’d been entertained while always being aware it wasn’t a very good film. It’s probably not one to watch if you’re hoping for a mini-noir masterpiece, but if you just want a bit of undemanding – and occasionally very violent – fun, it fits the bill.
CLICK HERE to read our exclusive interview with Give 'Em Hell, Malone director Russell Mulcahy.
Overall Verdict: Despite never deciding what it wants to be and often coming across as an idea that’s never been fully thought out, Give ‘Em Hell Malone is fun.
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Trailer
Reviewer: Tim Isaac
