Domino
© James C. Hess
A curious combination, superficially, I admit. But when it is considered at length a certain truth about Life in general becomes apparent: The people we tend to find interesting and larger-than-life tend to be people who experience what can be called 'Black Dogs', Blue Devils', and 'Mice'. That is, they tend to be people whose emotions and mental state veer from one extreme to another without ever settling in the middle. Because they are incapable of finding and achieving this middle ground, then, depression can easily gain a hold over them, and they tend to meet less-than satisfying and pleasing endings, making them, then, certainly tragic.
Take as example the central character in Tony Scott's latest cinematic rollercoaster ride as movie, "Domino", who is loosely based on Domino Harvey, a woman Scott once knew, who was named Bounty Hunter of the Year in 2003, and who died of an overdose in July 2005, at age 35.
Harvey was the daughter of the movie actor Laurence Harvey and the fashion model Paulene Stone (renamed Sophie Wynn in the movie). She had everything Life could offer, but was incapable of embracing it because she was decidely an extremist in her emotions and mental state. Consequently, she was almost obliged to throw away everything and start over, never finding satisfaction or happiness in her personal and professional life.
And because of this imbalance in her life and person she was inclinded, quite easily, toward self-destructive and self-abusive actions and behaviors. All of which led to her premature demise.
It is a tale played out again and again, both in men and women. But what makes this particular telling of this tragic tale different is how it is told: Two narrations, one written, and one spoken. Two narratives that run parallel to one another. Two narratives that intertwine, separate, and join again, through a twisting, turning energy and vitality presently unmatched.
Of course, the fact that director Tony Scott and his associates are inclined to take creative license adds an interesting dimension to the proceedings: Her life was not only beyond the normal and traditional parameters of fiction, but beyond imagination and invention: How does a woman who once worked as Ford model become a bounty hunter to begin with? To answer that question one must first pursue real relevant fact and truth and then accept fact and truth made for purposes here. The trick, then, is figuring out where one ends and the other begins.
