In an interview, Guy Ritchie said: “It took 3 years to write the script for the movie“ Revolver ”. While on the film "Big Kush" I worked for three months. " Many film critics and viewers are trying to uncover the meaning of the film "Revolver." And this is not surprising. The narrative has a multi-layered structure, which resembles a labyrinth where moves are constantly changing: Kabbalah, chess, blood pools, Beethoven and Vivaldi compositions are elaborately intertwined, perplexing the viewer with an intricate plot.
Meet the Director
Guy Ritchie is a native of Great Britain. Known to the public as a film director, producer and screenwriter. They first talked about him in 1998, when the premiere of the film "Cards, Money, Two Trunks" took place. His debut work was for a long time the most discussed topic of the media, since the stylish crime comedy in the plot reminded films of K. Tarantino.
The director is married to model Jackie Ainles, they have three children. It is worth noting that this is the second marriage of Guy. The first time he was married to Madonna, with whom he lived for 7 long years. From his first marriage, he has a son, Rocky, who was born in 2000.
Guy Ritchie's career in cinema began in 1998 when his first film was released. From that moment, he managed to shoot 10 paintings, 3 short films and 2 commercials.
"Revolver"
"Revolver" is a film whose plot revolves around an ordinary fraudster. He wants revenge, and his main weapon is the so-called "universal formula." She can guarantee a victory to everyone who will use it in the game or fraud.
The film "Revolver" is dated 2005 year. The main roles were played by Jason Stateem (role: Jake Green), Ray Liotta (role: Dorothy Mackie) and Andre Benjamin (role: Avi). Also in the cast were: Vincent Pastore (played the part of Zach), Terence Maynrad (the role of Paul), Andrew Howard (Billy), Mark Stroung (Utilizer), Francesca Anna (Lily Walker), Tom Wu (Lord John)
Story line
Before you look for meaning in something, you must first find out all the details, in particular this applies to the painting "Revolver". The description of the film is worth considering in more detail.
Jake Green spent 7 years in prison and went free. Before prison, Jake finds himself in an unpleasant situation. At that time, gambling took place illegally in the city. They had no rules, but they could bring good income to the participants, but they were very dangerous. The main organizer of the gambling mafia was Maka, the boss of the underworld. Before the start of one of the games, the boss loses his follower; he chooses Jake Green to replace him. Jake is against such activities, but the criminal group does not want to let him go, moreover, they begin to threaten the family of his brother Jake. Green agrees. He sits at the playing table and wins. But his victory was the beginning of history.
After the game, a firefight begins in the hall, and while the shooting is in progress, the money that was at stake mysteriously disappears.
Two weeks later, Green is being questioned by the police. The criminal group is sure that Jake can hand them over, and again begins to threaten his brother's family, as a result, Green's daughter-in-law is killed. Jake did not say that the game was organized by Maki, and received a sentence of 7 years in prison.
He spends seven years in solitary confinement. Jake’s neighbors turned out to be a chess player and a master of “wiring”. All his free time, Green is studying the literature on chess and gambling. It exchanges notes with neighbors on the pages of books, and subsequently they create a “universal formula”. It can not only be used in any game, but always and everywhere to win.
After the conclusion, Green uses the “universal formula” to enrich himself by pulling as much money as possible from the boss Maki. In this he is helped by a brother who has his own scores for the criminal boss. Maki worries about Greene's increased ambitions and wants to kill him.
At one point, Jake faints and ends up in the hospital. After returning home, a hired assassin from the Maki retinue awaits him. In a shootout, Jake's brother dies. Green himself was saved by a man named Zach. Jake gets into a chess club, where he is introduced to Avi. They show Green his analyzes - he is mortally ill. And they leave him no choice but to do whatever they say while still alive.
The essence of the film "Revolver" is difficult to understand, but it's worth trying to figure it out.
Digging deeper
Revolver (2005) is not a simple story with a usual plot. Behind the main plot timing there is another reality. And Guy Ritchie shows her with color illusions and cues, which few attach importance to.
Avi and Jake play a chess game throughout the film. But they are both players and figures. At the beginning of the film, Jake is a pawn, and Mac's boss is the king. Avi and Zack skillfully manipulate the pawn, but when the pawn reaches the edge of the board, it turns into a queen. And this is well shown in the episode where Jake, safe and sound, comes out after a shootout at the boss’s estate.
The meaning of the film “Revolver” is often seen by many people who understand the rules of chess in the proper conduct of the game. But is it really so? And who plays this game?
Sam Gold
Quotes from the movie Revolver often mention the name of Sam Gold. Therefore, many viewers have a question whether this character really existed. In fact, Sam is a kind of mystification of Avi and Zach, but at the same time he is a Demiurge who created a chessboard and controls the pieces of the main characters.
According to the director and screenwriter of the film, Sam Gold is a common mass hallucination. He does not exist in the real world, and he does not have any power. He can only do what the player will allow him. In the film, he is precisely the enemy that the human person must overthrow. He does not represent Good or Evil, as he is in the game.
Zach, Avi and Jake
The film "Revolver", reviews of which at one time flooded the entire Internet, was not intended by the director as something philosophical. It was supposed to be the usual story of "wiring from wiring." But, nevertheless, the creator of the film agrees with his viewers that Avi, Zack and Jake are in one way one person.
“Revolver”, a film whose actors played their roles admirably, shows that even one side of the human personality can have several faces. Zach, Avi and Jake - this is one of the aspects of human nature.
Beginning of the game
The meaning of the film "Revolver" is firmly connected with the game as such. That's just in the film it is not just a game with material things. This is more like bickering with one's own worldview. If in business it is customary to protect investments, then in the film a person defends his views on the world.
And scammers use this human quality, they will never directly ask for something to buy. And only spur "their victim" so that she defends her opinion. To be wrong means to be stupid, and nobody wants to admit their own stupidity.
To deceive the mind and personality is simple, the main thing is to play on the greed of people. And the film shows that the external enemy as such does not exist. Jake Green battles Jake Green.
Message
The phrases from the movie "Revolver" can be perceived differently. In some scenes, the characters conduct completely ordinary dialogues, but in them you can always catch phrases that have a dual meaning. If we consider these statements as a hidden message, it turns out that the film is a story about a man who is imprisoned in the framework of his own imagination.
That is, a person limits his capabilities to the microcosm in which he is accustomed to exist. In more global aspects, its capabilities are invalid. A person is looking for opportunities to become stronger, but who will become his teacher, if in a certain business he is already a professional. But at the same time, a person is sure that he has enemies that limit his actions, only in fact, not another person forces someone to act one way or another, this is only the result of his own choice.
According to this concept, in order to gain strength, it is necessary to fight with a stronger opponent, which for a person is himself. Quotes from the movie “Revolver” are the best proof of these words. Take, for example, Jake Green’s phrase: “The best rival comes from where you least expect it.” But at the same time, a person will always have an enemy who lives in his head.
A friend to himself and an enemy to himself - this is the whole man. One of the key scenes of the film is an episode on the roof. Here, Zach and Avi tell Jake where the essence of “the greatest deception” lies, where his main enemy is hidden. Something similar could be seen in the movie The Matrix, when Morpheus showed Neo that his world was just an illusion. In the case of Green, his adversary is his own greedy ego, which requires profit and material values. Realizing this simple truth, he gets the opportunity to beat Maki.
The meaning of the film "Revolver"
The film begins and ends with the escape of the protagonist from prison. He didn’t fall into a vicious circle, where the same day will constantly live. The director tried to show that freeing himself from places of deprivation of liberty does not at all mean removing the chains of his own mind.
“Revolver” is a film whose actors play different sides of the human personality, like chess pieces. According to the director, a chess game is a universal layout, and each person can be one of the chess pieces. Associating a chess game with a person’s life, he begins to narrate about Jake Green.
Green is a man who already once succumbed to the provocation of the Mafia boss, for which he was convicted. Having received the coveted freedom, he longs to get as much money as possible, and not from anyone, but from the boss Maki himself. As a result, he wins game after game, his brother maintains all financial statements, and it seems that the fun revelry will never end.
But at one point, Jake gets into a shootout, where all his comrades are killed, and he ends up in the company of Zach and Avi, who announce to him that he has no more than three days left, since Green is mortally ill. All the money won is taken from him, and Jake himself becomes an errand boy.
Jake executes many different orders, the main ones of which are debt collection. Perhaps this work, or maybe the realization that he will soon have to die, relieves Jake of the thirst for profit. He gets rid of the captivity of his own money, thereby gaining the strength to resist Gold and Maki. Sam Gold is a vicious character trait of Jake. He lives in his head and tries to control Green. Having given up his money, in an elevator on the 13th floor, Green meets with Gold and expels him from his consciousness, so to speak.
Jake makes generous charitable contributions on behalf of Maki, which confuses the enemy. And later in the mansion he asks the mafia boss for forgiveness. This act is so discouraging to Maki that he cannot shoot Green. A little later, Jake drives Maki into a corner, and there is nothing left for him but to give up completely. After all, a person who has cast aside his own ego gains an unprecedented inner strength that cannot be bought for any money. Maki becomes a victim of his own fears and dies from them. In contrast to him, Green skillfully overcame these obstacles.
To become truly free, it is necessary to undertake certain efforts, to get rid of what can limit actions or adversely affect life. “Revolver” is a story of deception, self-deception, fraud and swindle that constantly follow the hero, and only titanic efforts help him to free himself from this.
Movie Reviews
In 2005, a film appeared under the name "Revolver." The film in Russian appeared around the same year. At first, the domestic audience had the opportunity to watch the standard version lasting 106 minutes. A few days later, a simplified version of the film appeared in the web in 101 minutes, where the ending was cropped. And after a couple of weeks it was possible to watch the director's version of the film, which lasted 111 minutes.
But no matter what version the viewer watched, the Network literally exploded with numerous comments and reviews. Some viewers saw in the “Revolver” a hidden philosophical meaning that exposes the human essence. Someone was at a loss and reviewed the film several times, trying to understand what they were trying to tell him about - a chess game, an insane person or the criminal world of a casino. Some express their opinion that the meaning of the film is very deep and complex, while others are sure that there is no sense in this work.
Simply put, the film is a success. Indeed, even now, when more than 10 years have passed since the release, viewers are still reviewing the film, arguing about the existence and absence of meaning, and are constantly writing reviews.
And the meaning of the film is very simple, although it was beautifully veiled: "A person can do anything if he believes in himself and casts aside doubts." Beautiful, simple and without chess. However, as well as the choice of the name for the film: “Why a revolver? - Just". Guy Ritchie is always simple, which is why his work always finds its supporters.