jonny-4 The little-known and underrated Steven Mackintosh stars in this ambitious and complex British thriller which keeps you right on the edge of your seat until the end.Sadly, the end is a little bit disappointing but when you watch this endlessly twisting conspiracy story you'll soon come to realise that it is just too clever for its own good. And while that's not exactly a compliment, at least this low budget attempt at North by Northwest proves first-time writer/director Julian Simpson is not given to compromise.The story begins late at night in a Soho bar where unassuming thirtysomething musician Jasper (Mackintosh) is drinking alone until he's joined by stunning blonde, Sarah, played by Natasha Little. She seems very keen to go back to his place, crack open a bottle of vodka and spend the night doing whatever two broad-minded and drunk adults like to do. But at 2am there's a knock at the door and suddenly the pace of The Criminal picks up as Jasper gets a smack in the face and wakes up to find the blonde had been slashed to ribbons and he is the number one murder suspect.Up steps Bernard Hill as a hard-bitten copper who effs and blinds his way confidently through some fairly ropey dialogue. Unable to come up with substantive evidence, he lets Jasper back on the street (pursued by bumbling police, naturally) and our hero immediately begins to unravel the very murky story behind the murder. Be prepared to pay attention very closely from this point onwards because The Criminal is not a movie for those suffering post-MTV attention deficit disorder.Mackintosh, whose character probably seemed pretty flat on paper, is onscreen almost constantly and thankfully he's up to the job, rescuing what might otherwise be a celluloid disaster. You might not know his name, but if you've seen Lock Stock, Blue Juice or The Buddha of Suburbia, you'll know the face. There's a good role for Soldier Soldier star Holly Aird as Hill's sidekick but unwarranted top billing goes to stand-up comic Eddie Izzard, who pops up fairly unconvincingly for about ten minutes of screen time in a role that's perhaps a little too vital for someone so inexperienced. Comedy lovers should also watch out for Red Dwarf co-star Norman Lovett in a very brief cameo.Pick it apart and The Criminal doesn't hold much water. But despite its faults (of which there are a fair few) you are going to find it very hard to switch off without finding out what happens in the end.

shayhugi i think naf' said about gangster films in england.. but this is "the movie" it's amazing! it's kinda like a mix between guy richie and david lynch just without the bulls**t! it's a really brilliant! when u'll think u finally getting it.. even at the end... you'll than see once again that you wrong and this movie is even brilliant than you thought it is.. that this movie is one of the best movies i've ever saw.. i liked snatch and lsn2sb a lot! i gave them both 9 or 10.. but this one is da' best i saw in the genre

Koolandthegang I paid to see this film and I stayed until the end...in retrospect the two largest mistakes of the day. A roller coaster ride between wishing it would end and wishing I had something better to do at two-thirty in the morning. An absolutely terrible British film...nearly as bad as Rancid Aluminium.

clydebest Oh dear, British films, what happened? I saw this little slab of nastiness just under a year ago (Oct 99) and it still isn't out today (Oct 00) - and really it is no surprise. Debuting at the London Film Festival to lukewarm response, The Criminal appears to be a hark back to the dark days of late fifties Brit crim flicks where everyone got in too deep for their own good and co-incidentally came across a superfluous American character to help the thing get distributed in the US. Only this boy's been watching too many Brit gangster films. Although a cinematographically a worthy first pop by the debut director, the story is a seen-it-all-before-with-bells-on stab at a conspiracy theory movie with one minor exception...whereas you'll normally side with the beleagured protagonist in this genre, ten minutes in and you really stop caring what happens to the unsympathetic little git. For most people, the chance to see Eddie Izzard in a straight role will be the main bait, but even he's dead ropy in it, and all in all this spiteful little drain on a couple of hours of your life really isn't worth missing the soaps for. Be warned - if the police are stationed in a building that plush and majestic there really must be something dodgy going on.