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Focusing on forty-eight hours in the life of Harold Shand, London crime boss and all round cockney geezer (portrayed perfectly by Hoskins, in a role he was born to play), this is a study of what happens to a violent man when his seemingly perfect life starts unraveling. After a spate of attacks on Good Friday, when Shand is trying to get the Mafia to invest in his grand ideas for London's Docklands, he has to work out who is trying to take him down and why, before the Mafia's representatives get suspicious and leave.

The story isn't twist filled or overly complicated, but focuses rather on Shand's attempts to come to deal with what's happening. We have some fair idea's about what's going on, but there is quite some suspense in how things are going to turn out. Loyalties are questioned, as is Shand's position as the biggest man on the London scene.

Where the film really succeeds is its realism. Not only does Hoskin excel (this film was the first that really brought him to attention) but Mirren continues to prove she has flair and versatility. The film also features a fresh faced Pierce Brosnan in his first ever outing on film. Yet it is not only the acting which is realistic, but the setting and atmosphere. Reflecting the absence of guns in most of the British underworld, and with all the Cockneys actually sounding like they were born within hearing of Bow's Bells, you get transported into their world. And what a grimey, misogynistic, racist world it is. By not glamourising this decidedly nasty side of British life during the seventies, you get to see a lot of what things were really like. Whilst nowadays we are constantly reminded how much the Kray's loved their mothers, this film reminds you that they and their ilk were murdering, torturing, bigoted scum. No amount of cheerful cockneyisms can cover the fact that at heart, Shand is a rotten man.

Congratulations are due for putting up a guide to Cockney slang at the beginning of the film, rather than having to rely on the awkward explaining of every second sentence that mired recent efforts such as The Limey.

All in all, MacKenzie has crafted a well made piece. This was always going to be the film he was remembered for, and his descent into TV hell hasn't exactly been surprising. Yet here everything gels, from the tense, almost wordless introduction to the final, fantastic minutes, this is a confident vision.

Whilst there are certainly faults, mainly in the over simple story, the tension, realism and acting often make up for this. If only more of todays British Directors had seen this and 'Get Carter' rather than trying to knock off poor 'Lock, Stock...' rip-offs.

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originally posted: 06/08/00 02:44:58
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