Upon the first few scenes of “Everly,” it’d be easy to think you were watching a script pulled out of an old, long-lost notebook Quentin Tarantino had stored in an attic somewhere. There’s blood, guts, gunplay and a sizeable amount of camp.
But, while “Everly” carries the framework of a Tarantino flick, it doesn’t quite have their charm — and that’s OK. Under a cheesy script and some questionable direction, it manages to make its own charm and becomes a surprisingly fun time.
Salma Hayek plays the titular Everly, a sex slave owned by the Yakuza gang and held in an apartment complex in an unnamed city. After a vicious sex party turns worse and without help from her police contact (who is otherwise indisposed), she pretty much says, “Screw it.” She grabs her gun to shoot up the place full of gangsters as a means to survive. This, of course, marks the beginning of a bad evening.
I’m torn between calling the setup of the film disappointing or somewhat unique. It’s definitely both, as the film takes place entirely within the complex, or more specifically the room and the adjacent hallway. The use of the place is varied, with places to take cover, guns popping out of different holes and more than enough room for the body count. Still, it felt claustrophobic, even if it was for good reason.
It was funny to see Everly’s fellow prostitutes fighting her and each other after a bounty is placed on her head. The whole setup is ridiculous, crazy and fun but, dies down as soon as it ends. And besides a tense scene with a sadist and a masochist, we’re treated to Yakuza and SWAT officers as baddies for nearly the rest of the film.
Besides the villains being droll however, the action presents a decent spread of kills and present most of “Everly’s” campiness. It has blood sprays, deliciously B-movie gore and the fun gun fights.
The camp extends to the characters, especially Hayek as Everly. It was jarring to see her spout so many curse-filled one-liners as someone who’s used to her more serious roles, but you can definitely tell she was having a lot of fun with the role. In the less bullet-filled scenes, she does her best with a shaky script that doesn’t do too much explaining.
What bugged me the most however, was how she reverts from gun-toting badass to scared and defenseless in the face of danger at the drop of a hat. “Everly” works this suspension of disbelief by asking us not to wonder just how she got so good at handling any sort of weapons, or just fighting in general.
Ironically, there’s a line in the film’s trailer that would’ve solved this, where the wounded Dead Man (Akie Kotabe) comments on Everly’s gun skills. She cheekily replies back, “My father wanted a son.”
Besides Hayek, Kotabe’s role as Dead Man offers up spiritual advice in the midst of the action and turns out to be quite likable as a sort of pseudo-conscience to Everly.
Edith (Laura Zepeda), Everly’s mother, brings the action to a slow halt with good intentions, and her long lost daughter Maisey (Aisha Amayah) handles the “curious at the worst times” trope well.
“Everly” is again, a lot of fun to watch and left me satisfied with the ending. It reminded me of Tarantino’s camp charm, even if the script doesn't quite do a good job of explaining things.
The action is satisfying and Hayek’s fun with the role is infectious and ridiculous despite the constant personality changes. There’s a lot to like and a lot to hate here, so if anything, “Everly” is definitely worth a weekend rental.
Everly is on limited release in theaters now. You can also catch it on Video on Demand and digitally (ex. Google Play Store and iTunes Store)
Reach the reporter at djulienr@asu.edu, or on Twitter @legendpenguin
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