The Gist:
A corrupt London task force member struggles to balance his duties with his dark habits, the dangerous gangsters he routinely tricks into trusting him, and the family life he ultimately seeks to maintain.
The Review:
Be warned, this isn’t your average London cops n’ robbers flick, and it’s clear from the start that the setting is pitch black. It’s closer in tone to Ben Wheatley’s Kill List than anything Guy Ritchie ever produced, and the outcome looks increasingly bleak from the start.
Gritty realism is the order of the day, there are few characters who aren’t complete and utter bastards, and our protagonist’s cohorts are every bit as wretched and reprehensible as himself.
Like Filth, we follow his drug addled spiral into a vortex of no-return, except without the comedic relief, and the ending is one of the darkest witnessed since Darabont’s The Mist. What elevates it though is the kitchen-sink portrayal of a man stuck in a quicksand of his own engineering. The haunting and ethically accurate soundtrack by The The lends heavily to this, lingering with you long after the harrowing final shot.
The Verdict:
I found it refreshing, in the the all-too-often overlooked way that many crime thrillers aren’t, in that things don’t always work out for the “hero”. In other words, if you liked Pusher, you’ll love this.
Certificate: 18
Director: Gerard Johnson
Starring: Peter Ferdinando, Stephen Graham, Neil Maskell, Richard Dormer
Running Time: 112 Mins
Release Date: 6th July 2015
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