Essex Boys (2000)

British Equivalent of Goodfellas -- and Just as Good

If you like your films with grit and non-sentimentality, then this film is for you.

The ensemble cast is as good as any group Scorcese or Tarantino have put together. Only, these actors are from the mean streets of Essex, England.

The highly underrated (by American audiences) Sean Bean (Boromir, Agent 006 and countless other memorable film characters) brings a realism to his psychotic character worthy of DeNiro and Pesci. (As an aside, Bean also starred alongside DeNiro in an international thriller, Ronin, and more than held his own with the New York City icon).

Alex Kingston (of E.R. fame) brings multiple dimensions to her character as the woman who is controlled by the men in her life and eventually needs to wrest the control for herself.

Tom Wilkinson (of The Full Monty, The Governess and In the Bedroom) adds a touch of crude elegance to his role as a high caliber drug pin.

If you have a hard time with the accents (which can get thick at times) then put on the English subtitles and sit back and enjoy. There is violence, but not more than most American crime films. This films has lots of action, but mostly it has good actors working from a good script, which isn't always the case in these kinds of films.
March 20, 2007

WOW.....

What a great movie......kills the Sopranos in all aspects, actually the Essex boys can kick Tony Sopranos butt.......This movie is the real deal, i'ts as close to a mobsters life you can get in real time Essex, England.

FANTASTIC !!!!!!!!!!!!!! January 3, 2007

Essex Boys

More violence than I normally like to watch, got the video because it had Sean Bean and was quite surprised by it. It takes considerable acting skill to be as good-looking as he is and make you not notice it. If I'd never seen the Sharpe series or anything else except Essex Boys and someone asked me to describe Bean, I would have said "tall, blond and ugly as homemade sin" because somehow, all you see is the dark, misshapen soul of the sick character he plays.
The acting and photography are all good, although the accents were too thick for my American ears, had to use sub-titles. The story was too sad and too violent for my taste, felt depressed as much as entertained. But if you like the genre, this is a well-made and engrossing film. November 5, 2006

Very Good British Crime Drama!

"Essex Boys" is a very good British gangster flick. The main character Jason Locke (Sean Bean) has just been released from prison. After a very long stay, he finds that he is on the outside looking in. With the drug ecstasy making some of his former friends and acquaintances a fortune, he decides that he wants in on the action. And not just a little action, but a partnership. However, he is asking for more than he bargained for.

Enter John Dyke (Tom Wilkinson) who has already had his feel of prison; and although he is running drugs [on a low key basis] Jason Locke demands that he be made a partner with full entitlement to funds from the lucrative drug market. The problem is that Jason Locke is too wild in his ways, whereas John Dyke wants to be low key. Moreover, John has already stated that he doesn't ever want to see the inside of a prison again, and will do anything to see this never happens again: And for him, Jason Locke is a threat.

Another character in the film, Billy (Creed-Miles) is the only sympathetic character in the film. He is not a killer or bad person, he just hangs out with the wrong crowd. He has been hired by Jason to be his driver. At the same time, he is an acquaintance of John Dyke. Events occur [no spoilers] in which Billy finds he is not safe anywhere. The film is great, and Sean Bean gives an outstanding performance as a hot-headed ex-con, who finds he has pushed John Dyke a little too far. Highly recommended. [Stars: 4.5] October 19, 2006

Is This What It's Like To Be A Gangster?

There is nothing attractive about a life of crime as portrayed in this film, and that is one of its strongest suites. Based on actual events, it's a study of criminal existence at its most bleak---and hats off to the filmmakers and the cast for the pristine starkness of it all. There's certainly nothing romantic or cool about these people who respect no one and nothing.
I viewed it because I like the actors and was curious to see what they'd do with material like this. Sean Bean has villainy down to a fine art---but note that his villains aren't charming or any kind of ad for youth to plug into. We don't want to identify with his bad guys, we just want them to get their just deserts. (Bean is all the more a treat when he has an heroic role to sink his teeth into like Sharpe, Neil Byrne, or Boromir---even his heroes are flawed, which says something about the roles he chooses---but he is always intriguingly watchable.) Alex Kingston, Tom Wilkinson, and Charlie Creed-Meyers are all uncomfortably fine in their respective roles of abused wife, partner in crime, and hapless wheel-man.
Others have termed this drama "gritty" and that is is, but I think it goes even farther---it is a cautionary tale. August 31, 2006

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