If you have been with The Legionnaire from the beginning, you may remember a time when Cameron and I were only reviewing new releases.  Then we got COVID.  With cinemas shut down, and an ongoing commitment to continue giving you content, I decided to expand my approach.  I mean, what else were we, along the rest of the world, going to do with our time?  One of the things I did early on was come up with a list of a number of movies that I had seen numerous times and set those to the side.  This way, if things ever opened up again and my schedule filled, I would have some go to films that I could address without having to invest the same time as I would if it was a title with which I was unfamiliar.  Since those days, I have gone through the majority of the films that came to mind.  One that slipped through the cracks is Lucky Number Slevin (2006).  This gave me a quality movie to pass my Sunday afternoon, those happy Lenten feast days.

Nick Fisher (Sam Jaeger) is not Lucky Number Slevin.  He does owe money to some dangerous people, and he is found in a bus terminal by Mr. Goodkat (Bruce Willis).  For the moment, Mr. Goodkat appears like a harmless transient in a wheelchair.  He tells Nick a story about a horse race in 1979 that was supposed to be fixed.  Word of the juiced thoroughbred gets around to a down-on-his-luck father named Max (Scott Gibson), who decides to place a large bet on the fated heat in the hopes of improving his family’s station in life.  Just as the jockey is about to cross the finish line a winner, the beast beneath him comes up lame and Max’s hope go down with it.  On top of the fact that he did not have the money to cover the wager, the new criminal organization in town, headed by The Boss (Morgan Freeman) and The Rabbi (Ben Kingsley), opt to make an example out of anyone involved in the scam.  This means a lot of murder, including Max and his son.  This tale shocks Nick, but not as much as when Mr. Goodkat gets up and snaps the surprised man’s neck.  We then get to meet Slevin Kelevra (Josh Hartnett), who is unlucky.  He has come to New York City at the request of his friend Nick.  The fact that Nick is dead is only the beginning of his misfortunes, though Slevin tells Nick’s neighbor, Lindsey (Lucy Liu), that he does not know of Nick’s whereabouts.  Besides, Slevin had walked in on his girlfriend cheating on him, been kicked out of his apartment because of termites, and been mugged on the way to Nick’s place.  Lindsey is naturally curious, and though Slevin is clothed only in a towel, proceeds to lay out what she believes to be Nick’s mysterious disappearance.  Slevin is immediately charmed by her, and believes she has returned with another knock on Nick’s door.  This turns out to be Elvis (Dorian Missick) and Sloe (Mykelti Williamson), two strongmen that work for The Boss.  They believe Slevin to be Nick, and despite his protests to the contrary, take Slevin to see The Boss.  Nick owes The Boss $96,000, and Slevin has no way of proving his identity.  Yet, instead of killing Slevin, The Boss orders the hapless Slevin to assassinate The Rabbi’s son, Yitzchak (Michael Rubenfeld).  I will not mention this mafia heir’s nickname.  In any case, The Boss takes this as an escalation of the ongoing feud between the two crime leaders, and feels he must retaliate in kind.  Slevin is left with little choice before being returned to Nick’s apartment.  Emerging from a sideroom after Slevin’s departure is Mr. Goodkat.  He is there at The Boss’ request in order to perform the job just assigned to Slevin.  However, because The Boss wants it done quietly, Mr. Goodkat has The Boss bring in an amateur like Slevin.  Before Slevin can settle back into Nick’s place, he is greeted by two more thugs, Saul (Corey Stoll) and The Mute (Rami Posner), this time working for The Rabbi.  He is an actual member of the Jewish clergy, by the way, and is much more direct with Slevin.  The Rabbi demands that he is paid the $33,000 Nick is supposed to repay.  Slevin is given forty-eight hours to come up with the money.  Once more leaving, Mr. Goodkat enters the room.  The Rabbi asks why choose Slevin, and Mr. Goodkat chalks it up as a personal favor.  Upon once more getting back to Nick’s, Slevin exchanges with Lindsey news of their experiences.  Things seem dire for him, but she asks him out to dinner all the same.  He agrees, and while at the restaurant, they spot Yitzchak.  Slevin follows Yitzchak to the bathroom and makes an arrangement for them to meet later.  Before Slevin can leave the lavatory, he is accosted by Detective Brikowski (Stanley Tucci).  The police officer has been monitoring Slevin for some time, and wants to know what the young man has been doing with so many high-level criminals.  Slevin plays coy, and instead goes back to Lindsey’s for some adult time.  The next evening, Slevin is taken to meet Yitzchak.  Up until this point, the movie has strung you along to make you think that Slevin is the victim of circumstance, a classic example of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.  After he kills Yitzchak, we learn the truth.  Slevin is Max’s son.  The person that was supposed to murder the kid was Mr. Goodkat.  Instead, he had trained the boy to become a world class assassin like himself with the goal of eventually getting revenge on The Boss and The Rabbi.  With Mr. Goodkat’s help, this is what happens.  The problem, though, is that Lindsey knows who Mr. Goodkat is, and that is something the contract killer cannot abide.  Slevin anticipates how Mr. Goodkat will shoot Lindsey, providing her with the necessary protection.  Still, Mr. Goodkat is at the bus terminal as the two lovers are trying to leave.  What stays the executioner’s hand is seeing how much Slevin cares for Lindsey, and Mr. Goodkat lets them go.

I find Lucky Number Slevin to be as clever as they come, but there are critics out there who think it tries too hard to be clever.  I get what they are saying, but the example they hold up as what this is trying to emulate is Pulp Fiction (1994).  For me, there is an unnecessarily convoluted movie.  Lucky Number Slevin, while maintaining its intelligence, is easy enough to follow.  All the pieces fit together, and that is something I appreciate in a plot.  I also like the characters, though there are things they do that are not the most Catholic of acts.  Revenge is not the most Christian thing to do, though this is obvious.  What is also not Christian is being a holy man and a gangster at the same time.  Though a rabbi is a clergyman from another religion, Judaism does share a common root with Christianity.  The Rabbi attempts to rationalize following God and doing harm to others by saying there are three things a Jew must not do in taking another’s life: worship idols, commit adultery, or do so in a premeditated way.  Two of these are in the Ten Commandments, and the last can be found elsewhere in the Book of Deuteronomy.  Essentially, one cannot be held responsible for murder if it is an act of passion.  It does not seem that many of the hits ordered by The Rabbi would fall into the category.  Slevin calls The Rabbi on this fact, and the older man replies by admitting that he is a bad man.  He does not recognize any boundaries to his illicit activities because he has one foot each planted firmly in the religious and spiritual worlds.  This describes many so-called Christians today.  I think of this almost every time I see someone in public, or a celebrity, wearing a Cross around their neck.  I wonder if they are aware of the responsibility incurred by having such on item displayed on their person.  Following Jesus, or being a rabbi, does not mean that we can pick and choose aspects of the faith and call yourself anything, at least in the eyes of God.  Matthew 6:24 clarifies this well: “No one can serve two masters.  He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other.  You cannot serve God and mammon.”  The last word of that Scripture means wealth, and it speaks directly to the movie and us.  This is not like liking two baseball teams on opposite sides of a city.  These are life choices.  Thus, you cannot be a gangster and a religious leader.

There may be one or two others like Lucky Number Slevin, films that I have seen a few times and have yet to review.  We shall see.  In the meantime, we should appreciate this one.  It does have some adult material in it, and I am not thrilled about Slevin’s motivation.  Still, Lindsey redeems him to a degree.  It is worth a watch after the kids have gone to bed.