Cartoon caper? It's no accident that the film's ad campaign uses caricatures (l to r: Clerkin, Beesley, Ejiofor, Newton, Solanki and Stapleton)
Nicky (Ejiofor) is a young Northeast Londoner just out of prison and determined to go straight, but everyone from his old life is conspiring to drag him back into a life of crime. This includes two rival gangsters (Beesley and Solanki), Nicky's vampy sister (Williams), his troublemaking best friend (Clerkin) and a mysterious old man (Bolam). And Nicky's girlfriend (Newton) isn't very pleased about all this. Nor is her dad (Quarshie), who happens to be a cop.
It's not a terribly original idea to begin with, and nothing about this film rises above the average TV movie, really. Unlike some other qualified successes, the comedy and violence never gel--they feel like they come from totally different films. Yet despite the far-fetched storyline and some truly terribly crime-speak dialog, the film has a breezy tone that makes it watchable. This is mostly due to the solid and believable performances of Ejoifor and Newton, as opposed to the over-the-top antics of Beesley, Solanki, Clerkin, et al. But charm isn't nearly enough. The film needs both a consistent focus and a much better story to keep us interested ... or caring about the characters.
[18--themes, violence, language] 23.Oct.00
UK release 27.Oct.00
