Face (1997)

I absolutely LOVE this movie!

If you love movies about heists, crime, and everything in between, I would definitely say, buy this movie. Robert Carlyle shows just how much of an amazing actor he is, and if you're a Damon Albarn fan, then you need to see his one and only acting debut. Just, the ending was a big surprise, because it keeps you guessing as to, where the money ended up. Definitely a good watch, 5 stars all the way. January 21, 2008

Something that we've read and seen 1000's of times on TV

FACE, written by Ronan Bennett, and Directed by Antonia
Bird, received a lot of acclaim back in 1997. While the
movie overall, isn't poor entertainment, it doesn't bring
anything that the public hasn't seen tens of thousands of
times before, on TV, and for free, at that.

Any movie having a made-for-television feel to it, doesn't
bode well for a paid DVD and entry charge theatrical
release. Also, the story seems something that we've read
hundreds of times before in the average book out there,
such that, when we're at the last page we ask ourselves,
why did we waste so much time reading it? There's no
redeeming ending, and the story doesn't really carry
people's imaginations anywhere over 90 minutes. This movie
is a lot like the Airbus A380, except it barely gets off
the ground.

For sure, the actors put in a full day's honest work, and
for that, it's to be respected, however, the overall
movie, same may end up feeling is intended for convicted
felons, considering that the first half, is relatively
boring, TV-like, and the climax, is reminscent of DOOM,
Quake or violent video games, whereby an actual police
station is stormed by the gang, to get their loot back,
which it not exactly realistic, but, as said, may please
a certain element in the public.

In regards to the music, almost all of it is tasteful, if
not overdone, probably wounding the overall movie from
that aspect , by over-commercializing it. e.g. the Clash
is played when the gang drives around the streets of
London, yet who needs to hear the tune, for the 1,000th
time?

The shooting locations, stereotypically dark streets, the
overcrowded and dense neighborhoods, coupled with an
incomprensible mixture of Kurdish political protests in
the streets that is frequently intermixed with other
segments of this police story, is almost laughable, at
worst, and is a distraction, at best, considering most
viewers don't have the political science baggage or even,
the ethnic background to care about it, or grasp it.

Overall, FACE gets a passing grade as a TV movie, but
fares poorly as a DVD and theatrical release for anyone
over 18.
January 25, 2007

Best of British

Robert Carlyle has yet another opportunity to showcase his considerable talent in a great crime thriller. The movie opens with an excellent robbery scene that soon devolves into a clash of greed, personalities, and intrigue. The depth of characterization portrayed is far beyond the typical Hollywood production, and Carlyle is aided considerably by great performances by Ray Winstone, Leana Headley, Steve Waddington, and Damon Albarn. Britain is not a gun culture like the U.S., and toughness is more a case of mana, or "face." The interplay of unemployment, row homes, subsistence-level criminality, and the occasional big score play out to the film's closing moments that include a knuckle-biting burglary attempt inside a police station. "Face" is one of the best Brit offerings in a decade. September 18, 2006

There is nothing muddier than mud

This film is a thriller of that new type that looks into the gang of criminals and reveals, little by little, that it is a very difficult job to be a criminal and to earn a good living out of it. You have your accomplices you cannot trust. You have those that are finks. You have those who are too greedy. You have those who are too weak to look after themselves. You have those who do not respect instruction. You also have the cops, your parents, your girl friends, you wives and children. What a hard life it is to be a criminal. It looks like some may have reached the right time to withdraw from all that business and retire into some kind of cocoon, far away and alone or nearly alone. The great point in this film is that there is womething new happening absolutely till the end of the film itself. In other words there is absolutely no end to the human ugliness of criminals with other criminals, and all criminals are of course not necessarily those we may think. But they sure must be strong people somewhere to survive such a mess, at least one has to be to survive the mess that crime is. A sad film somewhere but optimistic about the resilience of the human species.

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, Université Paris Dauphine, Université Paris I Panthéon Sorbonne
December 14, 2005

Good crime film spoiled by social pretension

There is nothing new in the plot of Face, A group of armed robbers pull off a job and split the proceeds. Then things start to go wrong as the money disappears and the four robbers attempt to find out who has taken it. What makes this film watchable are the London setting and the performances of Ray Winstone and Phil Davies. Ray Winstone is superb as Dave, an face (known criminal) who is passed his prime and increasingly frustrated by his inabilty to control events. Phil Davies is also on top form as Julian, not Julie as he tells everyone, a pyscopath whose answer to every problem is to shoot someone.

An enjoyable scene is when Julian having been bundled into the trunck of a car attempts to negotiate a price with Dave and Ray (Robert Carlyle), even though they hold all the cards and may be going to kill him.

What lets this film down the character of Ray, a former left wing activist who has turned to violent crime. There is nothing wrong with Robert Carlyle's performance but the basis of the character is simply not believable. Neither is his girlfirend, a left wing social activist who lives with an armed robber, the ultimate example of free enterprise, it is just not believable.

Also given that these men are violent criminals do we really think that they should get away with the loot?

If the makers of this film had stuck with making a good gangster flic without adding all the social pretension it would have been a better film.

January 17, 2005

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