Face (1997/I)

Director:

Antonia Bird

Writer:

Ronan Bennett (screenplay)

Release Date:

26 September 1997 (UK)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

The blag to kill for. Only one of them meant it for real.

Plot:

Ray is an aging ex-socialist who has become a bankrobber after seeing the demise of socialism in 1980s Britain...

Plot Keywords:

Nose Bleed | Robbery | Social Issues | Treason | Violence

Awards:

4 wins

Cast

Robert Carlyle	...	Ray
Ray Winstone	...	Dave
Steve Sweeney	...	Weasel
Gerry Conlon	...	Vince
Leon Black	...	Robbie
David Boateng	...	Lionel
Lena Headey	...	Connie
Eddie Nestor	...	Pearse
Steven Waddington	...	Stevie
Christine Tremarco	...	Sarah
Andrew Tiernan	...	Chris
Sue Johnston	...	Alice
Damon Albarn	...	Jason
Philip Davis	...	Julian
Hazel Douglas	...	Linda

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence and language.

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Australia:M | USA:TV-MA (cable rating) | South Korea:18 | Iceland:16 | France:-12 | Germany:16 | UK:18 | USA:R | Argentina:16

Filming Locations:

Bancroft Road, Mile End, London, England, UK

Company:

BBC Films

Movie Connections:

Featured in Venice Report (1997) (TV)

Highly watchable

This British crime film has got superb casting: every single performace is rock-solid and Robert Carlyle absolutely shines. Cast also includes an extra-terrestrially beautiful lady, Lena Headey. And the storyline is flawless -- full of interesting characters, believable enough, and deliciously crooked but free of annoying twists for twists' sake.

Yet, somehow, the movie never quite reaches brilliance, but falls into the "quite nice" category instead. Directing and cinematography is a bit too conservative; a few original tricks (just a hint of artistic touch, some surprising angles, tinted scenes or anything at all) could have spiced the movie just enough to make it more memorable. And although the music in the action parts is appropriate, the clichéd saccharine sound squandering backing the more romantic moments is dismaying. This would have been a much better movie already if those sequences would have been void of music.

So it is not a masterpiece despite the potential, but I liked it a lot nonetheless. Recommended to all who have an affinity for British quality movies. (7.5/10)