rumblestrom
I caught this film on late night TV by chance, and it had quite an impact on me. Clearly, some of the other reviewers were looking for unstinting, hardcore violence. There is violence, but the menace is just as, if not more powerful.Some scenes are quite grim and unsettling, while the contrast in the portrayal of relationships couldn't be more stark, to good effect.The acting is believable and drew me in right up to the end. Yes, it was clear to me what was happening, but that's because I was watching a film. You wouldn't find it so easy to process if this was actually your life, which doesn't seem to have occurred to the film's detractors. You need to have a bit of an imagination to appreciate this film. If you're only interested in torture and mayhem, look elsewhere.
StationeryExplorer
When I checked-in to this movie, I was very disappointed to see the low score. Ten minutes in, I realised the problem: you see Big Ray and Fireman Murphy in the credits and you want to see mugs getting a slap for taking liberties. That doesn't really happen, so anyone looking for that type of movie will be disappointed.What does happen is that a couple of cockneys get metaphysical on the collective backsides of the audience and pull off something worthwhile. It's not the best movie you'll ever see, in fact it's pretty easy to spot how it's going to play out from the start, but if you send your expectations down the nuclear sub (pub) and put your plates (feet) up with a bowl of earwax (snacks), you could probably persuade 'er indoors (betrothed / spouse / partner) to watch it with you.
jayneflakes
I saw this movie as a DVD that I picked up in a sale basket and to be honest I did not expect much given the price but being fond of Winstone, I thought that for three pounds I could not lose out. This has probably been one of the better choices I have made for a while, because while the film at first confuses the viewer, the tone changes as a dark bleak certainty is more than hinted at.Ray Winstone is as always powerful, if not utterly terrifying, the implication that his character is capable of "things other men are not" is brutally laid out in this tragically dark movie about family.Although the story arc becomes quickly apparent to a switched on viewer, the fear of the brutality that some of the characters can unleash makes viewing occasionally an uncomfortable experience, but persevere through this because the end is most unexpected.
luiser-898-616536
Wow. This was one of the worst movies I've ever seen. Basically you figure out the whole story within the first 10 minutes of the movie (not kidding) and then spend the rest of this 90 minute snooze fest waiting for the main character to figure it out as well. Main characters that behave unbelievably stupid and take painfully long to figure out the obvious are nothing new, but this one might seriously be a contender for worst of all time. To add insult to injury, the director probably thinks his audience is equally retarded, as the same hints at the big mystic truth get repeated over and over again in more and more obvious fashion until even a braindead monkey would understand what its all about. Since that is basically the whole film, you are looking at 90 minutes of countless repetitions of the same scenes in minor variations.This wouldn't be as bad as it is, if these scenes weren't completely boring and meaningless once there is no mystery left which they help to uncover (which again, you basically have it all figured out 10 minutes into the movie, guaranteed!) I really wonder how this could win awards. Also this has not much to do with a Gangster film, the title poster is VERY misleading. This is my first review, I actually made an account just to warn people of this extremely bad movie.
AD
