Most of Knightley's success in her career has come in period drama, and whenever she has left this comfort zone she has tended to come a cropper, either critically or commercially. But while her work in Pirates was bad, and her contribution to The Jacket was disappointing, she has never failed quite so spectacularly as she did on Domino. Scripted by Richard Kelly (Donnie Darko) and directed by the late Tony Scott (Top Gun), it is a catastrophe on every conceivable level. Domino is based loosely on the life of Domino Harvey, the daughter of actor Laurence Harvey who became a professional bounty hunter in Los Angeles. At the beginning of the film, Domino is being questioned by the FBI over her possible involvement in the theft of $10m from an armoured car. Domino answers her questions while explaining through flashbacks how she became a bounty hunter, including her modelling career, her expulsion from college and her relationship with fellow bounty hunter Ed Moseby (Mickey Rourke). Domino is an all-round terrible film. Even by Scott's standards it is far too flashy and shallow for its own good, and unlike Silk it doesn't have much to fall back on in terms of its visuals. Kelly's script is incoherent, as is Scott's direction, and right in the centre of it all is Knightley at her most wooden and disinterested. She doesn't so much play Domino as slouch from scene to scene, believing that all one needs to look tough is to curl one's lips and carry a gun. It's a performance with no depth, believability or commitment, and it's therefore a shoe-in for the low point of her career. --- Disagree with my choices? Drop me a comment below or visit Mumby at the Movies for more film reviews.
Freelance copywriter, film buff, community radio presenter. Former host of The Movie Hour podcast (http://www.lionheartradio.com/ and click 'Interviews'), currently presenting on Phonic FM in Exeter (http://www.phonic.fm/). Other loves include theatre, music and test cricket.
