Pistol
“Pistol” is sometimes silly, either by intention or because this sort of biopictorial mission is always going to produce something at least a little silly. The director intercuts the action with snippets of contemporary movies and television and advertisements. Every shot seems taken from a different angle. Boyle cants the camera, as on TV’s “Batman,” plays tricks with mirrors, uses slow motion and step frames. It’s all patched together rather like a documentary, without presenting itself as one. And by framing it in the standard aspect ratio — like old movies and TV shows — Boyle makes “Pistol” feel at once historical and whimsical, present and distant. It’s like something out of a storybook.
Pistol
“Pistol” is sometimes silly, either by intention or because this sort of biopictorial mission is always going to produce something at least a little silly. The director intercuts the action with snippets of contemporary movies and television and advertisements. Every shot seems taken from a different angle. Boyle cants the camera, as on TV’s “Batman,” plays tricks with mirrors, uses slow motion and step frames. It’s all patched together rather like a documentary, without presenting itself as one. And by framing it in the standard aspect ratio — like old movies and TV shows — Boyle makes “Pistol” feel at once historical and whimsical, present and distant. It’s like something out of a storybook.