DVD Review – Everly
2 min read
Everly is an action/thriller centered on a woman forced to face down hitmen sent by her ex, a mob boss, while holed up in her apartment. Starring Salma Hayek as Everly this is a film desperate to be in the same league as films like Kill Bill and Pulp Fiction but it falls desperately short. The premise is murky at best. Everly, along with the rest of the people on her floor all appear to be sex workers or more precisely, sex slaves forced to work for mob boss, Taiko (Hiroyuki Watanabe).
The film opens on a torture scene, that thankfully we as the audience only hear. A blood bath quickly ensues with Everly managing to wipe out Taiko’s men. A hit is then placed on Everly and the other girls on the floor attempt to take her out, desperate for the reward money. However, the characters played by these actors are so farcical, they are like caricatures and we scarce believe a thing they say or do.
While Hayek does her best to keep this film together, it’s difficult to see her as a heroine here. With limited skills with a weapon of any kind, Everly’s survival seems to be based on, for the most part, sheer dumb luck.
It’s not clear what Taiko actually wants here or why but it is clear that he is a fan of torture and his plan is obviously to torture Everly to death. There is also a random torture scene featuring a character called The Sadist that basically comes out of nowhere and culminates in a very gory, bloody end. This scene neither furthers the plot nor lends it more credibility.
There is also some misplaced humour that just doesn’t work and one quickly gets the feeling that they’re watching a high school attempt at an assassin film. It feels clunky and amateur, over-stylised and glib. While Everly could have been a vehicle for female empowerment, with its female cast turning on each other at every turn and its heavy does of torture porn, coupled with a half-naked Hayek, it just leaves you sighing and shaking your head.
