Film Review: DOWN TERRACE (2009)

Director: Ben Wheatley
Writers: Robin Hill, Ben Wheatley
Running time: 89 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 15

Genre: Crime/Drama/Comedy
UK Release date: 30^th July 2010

Watched on Terrestrial PVR Saturday 20^th September 2013.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE UNINTENTIONAL SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

I can’t say I’m particularly a fan of Ben Wheatley’s work, but to be fair, I haven’t seen an awful lot of it. I put this partly to rights when one of the film channels here in the UK decided to show a short season of his films to coincide with the release of ‘A Field in England’, (review here). I certainly found this an interesting film with a very interesting style. I will tell you more after this very brief summary.

When father and son Bill (Robert Hill) and Karl (Robin Hill) get let off drug trafficking charges in court they return home to their terraced house. There waiting for them is Maggie (Julia Deakin), Bill’s wife, and a lad who works for them, Garvy (Tony Way). They want to get to the bottom of who had set them up and their suspicions initially fall on Garvy. Other characters begin to turn up; Eric (David Schaal) and Pringle (Michael Smiley), both of the criminal fraternity and then there’s Valda (Kerry Peacock), an ex-girlfriend of Karl’s who happens to be pregnant with his kid. As I said, there were suspicious of Garvy, but how far will it go before the week is out?

This film was billed as a comedy but I found it so darkly comic that I could almost take it as a straight-up drama. All the performances were excellent with both Robert and Robin Hill putting in stellar turns. A cross between a kitchen sink drama and a fly-on-the-wall documentary, I found the filming style made for a compelling watch. Unfortunately there were a couple of niggles. They are supposed to be drug dealers but we see no drug dealing going on. Also, the police were very conspicuous by their absence; not one policeman seen al the way through. You’d have thought the police would definitely be watching someone with their track record. Other than that I found it an interesting and compelling watch. Just a word for the squeamish though, Ben Wheatley does not hold back on the violence. There are a couple of quite graphic scenes in there that might have you wincing.

SteelMonster’s verdict: RECOMMENDED

My score: 7.1/10.

IMDb Score: 6.1/10 (based on 1,424 votes when this review was written).
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1489167/

MetaScore: 68/100: (Based on 14 critic reviews provided by Metacritic.com at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Tomatometer’ Score: 85/100: (based on 34 reviews counted at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Audience’ Score: 60/100: (based on 1,371 user ratings counted at the time of going to press).
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/down-terrace/

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LINKS:
(Note: All were working at the time of going to press)
Official Site: http://www.downterrace.com/
Official Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/downterrace
Trailer:

Film Review: A FIELD IN ENGLAND (2013)

Director: Ben Wheatley
Writers: Ben Wheatley, Amy Jump
Running time: 90 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 15

Genre: Drama/History/Thriller
UK Release date: 5^th July 2013

Watched on Terrestrial PVR Sunday 18^th August 2013.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE UNINTENTIONAL SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

This film has the rare distinction of being released in cinemas, on DVD and also on TV all on the same day. I’m not sure, but it may have also been released for download on the same day as well. I recorded it from the TV but it has been a while before I’ve had the chance to watch it. Quite an odd film, most of which I liked, but there were some parts that were too far out there for even me! Here’s a very brief summary before I give you my thoughts.

Set during the English Civil War, the story concerns a group of men who find themselves in a large field, separated from the main battle. One of them, Whitehead (Reece Shearsmith), has bee tasked with finding and bringing to justice a thief known as O’Neil (Michael Smiley). The others, Trower (Julian Barratt), Jacob (Peter Ferdinando) and Cutler (Ryan Pope) are all soldiers with varying degrees of experience. Whitehead freely admits he’s a coward; he’s a bookish man who does not enjoy the cut and thrust of battle. They stop for a meal and have some mushrooms they find in the field. After this things start to go a bit freaky. They discover a rope and at the end of the rope they find O’Neil. Whitehead tries to arrest him but he turns the tables on him and takes Whitehead prisoner instead. Claiming there is a treasure in the field; O’Neil forces Whitehead to tell him where to dig. I will leave it there because from here on it get’s pretty weird.

Filmed entirely in black and white and on a budget, I thought the filmmakers did a pretty good job. All the performances were excellent with Reece Shearsmith and Michael Smiley standing out. There are many unexpected plot twists in this one; it certainly keeps the audience on their toes. Quite a few bizarre effects used to show the effects of the mushrooms but I did like the use of close-ups. It is pretty gory despite being made in black and white; some of the effects are pretty gruesome. Over all, I pretty much enjoyed this one despite it’s strangeness in places. I would like to see it again sometime as I’m sure there’s much I missed.

SteelMonster’s verdict: RECOMMENDED

My score: 7.2/10.

IMDb Score: 6.0/10 (based on 1,510 votes when this review was written).
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2375574/

MetaScore: No data: (Based on 0 critic reviews provided by Metacritic.com at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Tomatometer’ Score: 88/100 (based on 25 reviews counted at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Audience’ Score: 64/100 (based on 547 user ratings counted at the time of going to press).
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/a_field_in_england/

If you’re crazy enough… You can find me on Facebook at:
http://facebook.com/andy.steel3

LINKS:
(Note: All were working at the time of going to press)
Trailer:

Film Review: KILL LIST (2011)

Director: Ben Wheatley
Writers: Ben Wheatley, Amy Jump
Running time: 95 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 18

Genre: Crime/Horror/Thriller
UK Release date: 2^nd September 2011

Watched on Sky+ Sunday 9^th December 2012.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

I must admit I knew very little about this film before seeing it; I know there is much talk about its director, Ben Wheatley, at the moment with the release of his latest film, Sightseers. Some may find this one quite disturbing in places with scenes of extreme violence and also some very strong language. Here’s a very brief summary before I give you my thoughts.

Jay (Neil Maskell) is a former soldier who lives with his wife Shel (MyAnna Buring) and son Sam (Harry Simpson). They are in financial trouble because Jay has been suffering psychological problems after a job went wrong in Kiev eight months previously. Jay’s friend, Gal (Michael Smiley), persuades him to take on a new contract with him and they go off to meet the client. I should point out that their work is in the contract killing game. The client (Struan Rodger) seems very interested in Jay and before he leaves, he cuts Jay’s hand with a knife. The pair set about their work but things don’t exactly go to plan and they find themselves embroiled in a very bizarre world indeed. But is there a way out?... I had better leave it there.

The film starts with what looks like an average domestic drama with Jay and Shel constantly falling out and making up. But once Jay and Cal set about their work the whole atmosphere of the piece changes. There is a great sense of mystery with several aspects of the plot not fully explained, leaving it to the audience to decide, this I really liked. I should warn potential viewers that there are scenes of very extreme violence and an awful lot of swearing (so be prepared). Over all, I found it a decent watch with some very nice aspects and an ending that’s left wide open to interpretation… A Brit flick well worth a viewing.

SteelMonster’s verdict: RECOMMENDED

My score: 7.4/10

IMDb Score: 6.2/10 (based on 10,885 votes at the time of going to press).
http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt1788391/

MetaScore: 67/100: (Based on 22 critic reviews provided by Metacritic.com at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Tomatometer’ Score: 75/100 (based on 81 reviews counted at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Audience’ Score: 57/100 ‘Liked It’ (based on 6,434 user ratings counted at the time of going to press).
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/kill_list_2011/

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http://facebook.com/andy.steel3

FAVOURITE QUOTES:
None available.

LINKS:
Official Site: http://www.kill-list.com/
Trailer: