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analysis w/e 14.5.11 |
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May 11 2011 
DVDfever co uk
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Dom Robinson reviewsSpivsYou can't cheat an honest man.Distributed by
Producers:
Screenplay:
Music:
Cast:
Steve: Nick Moran Jenny: Kate Ashfield Goat: Dominic Monaghan Nigel Blanchard: Jack Dee Nigel's secretary: Elizabeth Berrington Auntie Vee: Linda Bassett O'Brien: Paul Kaye Villa: Tamer Hussain Mr Rhodes: David Gant
Jack Pike (Ken Stott) is one of the Spivs - a colloquial terms for a flashily-dressed man living off shady dealings. As the film begins, we see Jack pulling a fast one on a man called O'Brien (Paul Kaye), before dealing a more elaborate hand to a businessman named Nigel (Jack Dee), although it's a short con that's got nothing on Hustle's style, a series for which I occasionally enjoyed the first series but only fully tuned in for the second one's finale as it had gone off the boil. Things don't change for the better when a plan to swipe a lorry reveals that instead of containing cigs, booze, or any other form of contraband, it's actually full of immigrants. What follows is that two of them are East-European siblings, Rosanna and Anton (Rita Ora and Christos Zenonos), and Jack, little by little, takes pity on them and helps them to find their intended destination.
At the same time, Steve (Nick Moran) and Jenny (Kate Ashfield) try a con involving counterfeit money with a businessman who looks a bit like Sean Connery. Along the way, we see some foreign heavies, some other men involved in the trafficking of children for illegal and immoral purposes and Jack Dee's character returns as he becomes more tied in with the proceedings as the film progresses. Amongst all this, I have to ask - what's the point of Dominic Monaghan's character, Goat? In fact, given that we're expecting something along the lines of Snatch and instead get a plodding drama that takes down avenues we never thought we'd go down, all of which are far from interesting, and none of which are explained - i.e. the ties between the baddies and the recurring characters - you begin to question why such a pointless cinematic experience was ever conceived. Highlights? Kate Ashfield. She's lovely. Downsides? Almost everything else, and while a plasma TV in a hotel and the presence of Euros as one form of currency show we're in the present day, the characters, plus the suits and Cockney accents of Jack and Steve, sound more like something from the '70s and give it a completely dated feel, which is quite apt if that means it's not going to attempt to compete in today's movie market. Overall, I was expecting more from this - in fact, quite a different movie altogether from the one I got. What were they thinking?
The film is presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen, with a well-framed image that won't lend itself to being cropped to 16:9 when it comes to a TV screening. On the good side, there's no problems whatsoever with the picture. The sound is in Dolby Digital 5.1 and starts off well with some nice deep bass in the opening horse-racing sequence, with other scenes including the kind of music you'd expect from the aforementioned Guy Ritchie flick, accompanied by a little bit of welcome work for your subwoofer. The brief extras include a Trailer (100 seconds, anamorphic 16:9), Featurette (16 mins, presented in 4:3 with letterboxed 2.35:1 film clips) which blends in movie clips with standard cast and crew interviews, where the dialogue from the front channels has been copied to those at the rear, making for a very disconcerting sound indeed, and a feature-length Director's Commentary. Subtitles are non-existent, which is a shame given the Cockerney accents, there are a paltry 12 chapters and the menu features some music from the film, set to headshots taken from the film of key cast members, replaying it over and over. If you enjoyed the film then it may be worth a rental, but with such paltry extras it only has the picture and sound to recommend it, and is not something I'd like to sit through again.
Review copyright © Dominic Robinson, 2005.
As of April 2009, Blu-rays and DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TH-37PX80B 37" Plasma TV with a Sony BDP-1500 Blu-ray player and played through a Yamaha DSP-AX820 amplifier. PC games reviewed by the editor are on:
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