18, 103 Minutes. Starring: Colin Farrell, Ray Winstone, Anna Friel & Keira Knightley Director & Screenwriter: William Monahan.
London's been calling for a cooler gangster flick so Farrell and Winstone answer.
England and London especially have a great reputation for gangster movies. These movies are as gritty and as real as they come. Still there's been a need over the last few years for these films to balance the grit and realism with cool and class. This is where William Monahan's 'London Boulevard' comes in. A graphic but gratifying gangster flick. Which is cool and in parts even funny and moving.
After the success of his penmanship on the Scorsese classic 'The Departed', Monahan goes it alone, entering the directors chair for a film which stars versatile leading man, Colin Farrell. 'London Boulevard' centres around Farrell's hard man Mitchell (no relation to those 'Eastenders' brothers, but he's tough enough to be). Mitchell comes out of prison after 3 years on GBH and enters a life of unemployment and squalor. His only friend is Billy (Ben Chaplin) a guy who deserves all the profanity put his way in this picture that we cant print here.
So with no help to get back on the straight and narrow Farrell has to take any work he can get but a break comes when he meets Keira Knightley. Knightley plays a film star frightened and fed up of the paparazzi (aren't we all?) who need Farrell's rough around the edges character to rough up and protect her from the media frenzy that is her front lawn.
Still Knightley isn't the only one interested in Mitchell and the press aren't the only problem that follows him and demands his attention. A London gangster played by Ray Winstone (a 'Departed' standout who's probably played more mobsters now than Robert De Niro (imagine if this guy moved over to family movies as well...scary)) also demands Mitchell's services, but will he supply.
What results is a great movie that's thrilling and captivating all at the same time. The sombre touching moments breath fresh air into the gangster genre without grappling with it's integrity or toughness. This film is like a Ferro Roche tough on the outside but with a smooth soft centre. It's the hard hitting action that draws you into this movie, it's the depth that keeps you there. The most thrilling elements of this piece aren't the action set pieces but the psychological ones.
The dialogue is not only cool it's cold, and clinically precise. There are parts of this film that your genuinely scared of Ray Winstone (well who wouldn't be?) and when Colin Farrell and Ray Winstone square up to each other and shout, their so close their almost kissing and you believe for more than a second that Farrell's character isn't screwing around or intimidated by Winstone at least for that minute.
Their are moments in this film where if you let your mind get away from you, you really will be shocked and the romance in this film is real, not just put in to tie everything together. Farrell and Knightley's chemistry is beyond the physical. This film is clearly influenced by the film noir classic trappings of 'Sunset Boulevard' and it shows live and in colour. This dark film is interesting and engaging from the first flick of the stylish credits and this cool direction is maintained through the film to avoid audience disconnection.
The soundtrack of this movie is on point right from The Clash this music goes together with the film like a black suit and an open shirt. Still this film goes beyond style, suiting up with a suitable amount of substance. By the end of the film you feel for the characters and your really left guessing and anticipating what's going to happen. The climax of this film is classic 'Departed' as well with more than a few people making that definition. You'll be left on the edge of your seats, playing the guessing game for the entire third act of this film, which turns 'London Boulevard' from a thriller to a killer film.
The support in this film is great as all the actors show that their the cream of the Britain acting talent crop. Farrell again proves he's one of the top ten leading men out today (if not five) with another stellar performance. It's one for his filmography books as again he shows his versatility, despite a shaky at times cockney accent from the Irish talent. The charming Ray Winstone is again at his menacing best. Even though your so drawn into the other subplots in this film that you forget Winstone's in it until he shows up part way through. Still from the first moment he steps out a personalised Rolls Royce his gangster character rules each scene.
The leading ladies of this film command attention too. Even though you might spend half this film wondering whether it's Keira Knightley or Natalie Portman, Portman...I mean Knightley delivers one of her better performances. She even gives a well written monologue about the use of women in movies which may have some bitter realism on it. David Thewlis is also fantastic, despite looking like a stoned Alan Rickman as he plays Knightley's aid and friend who really, really doesn't do much. Still once his character develops he means a lot to the film and his real life partner is also great as Farrell's sister. The 34 year old looks as good as she did 10 years ago but acts her age in sliding into the role of an immature, alcoholic young woman in need of help. Plus her on screen on and off love interest Sanjeev Bhaskar is top notch as this movies help to the hero. The star of the new TV show 'The Indian Doctor' put the scrubs back on for a surgically good performance. Stephen Graham is also again on hand for another hit British movie. The versatile character actor again adds another string to his bow with an on target cameo.
All in all 'London Boulevard' pays homage to 'Sunset Boulevard' in more ways than one. Plus standing on it's won it intimidates the rest of the recent British gangster movies with it's grit, toughness and overall it's overriding heart. Down the road this film will stand the test of time whether caught at the cinema or hitting big outside the big screen, once it hits DVD shelves and television like Farrell's other European classic 'In Bruges'. Through the traffic of crime films this year 'London Boulevard' stands out like a capital. TIM DAVID HARVEY
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