Face (1997)

Let's be realistic.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

This is a slightly schizo movie....with excellent elements, and then some seemingly randomly inserted flashbacks apropos nothing!! The acting is great, if slightly stereotypical of genre...think Lock Stock... but hugely entertaining. The soundtrack is excellent, reminiscent of a decade, and full of portent....very clever.And then we have the flashbacks!!! At times it seemed as if there was two directors pulling the movie in different directions, or as another reviewer suggested, that it was edited to death. In either case, I think the movie survived the mauling, and comes through, slightly disheveled, but watchable...

This is one of my favourite films. OK it isn't deep and it's all been done before but it is engrossing and entertaining throughout. What lifts the film above most crime thrillers is the brilliant British cast. Robert Caryle is extremely charismatic in this role and he is given stellar support by Ray Winstone, Lena Headley, Sue Johnston and a very impressive Philip Davis. Even Blur front-man Damon Albarn makes an appearance.The film moves along at a cracking pace, there is a well done and bloody shootout and there is a nice twist. The final scene is beautifully done and is enhanced by the Longpigs brilliant 'On and On'.A really enjoyable film for those that like gangster films with a bit of heart.

The basic plot is a familiar one: a group of hoodlum misfits who form a chaotic "band of brothers" with an unspoken code of gangster ethics. After following a marginally successful heist, the plot starts dissecting the relationships, and the code starts breaking down until the eventual conclusion. There are scenes of each key members' familial relationships, which helps round out the characters, and helps sets the stage for a father/daughter dynamic what starts the unravelling.Set within this fabric of a story is the main character Ray (played by Robert Carlyle), the leader of the gang. He has become disillusioned with his liberal mother's causes, and has gone to the criminal side, only to find that he is doomed to more disillusions of the path he has chosen. Why he has such faith in the social world of this criminal world is not explained, but it eventually becomes his hubris. As his world is crumbling around him, he seeks salvation by begging his girlfriend to start a new life with him, but she is fed up with his way of life, and doesn't see that they have any future together. She essentially says no.As everything spirals down around him, Ray has one last chance: a wistful hope of a rendevouz with his girlfriend. That scene is worth experiencing without my spoiling it.There are great performances everywhere. Ray Winston shows us the core of a seasoned gang soldier, and his hopes for his daughter's happiness and well-being. Philip Davis as Julian is the "loose canon" of the group (literally), and his scenes are very powerful...you just never know what he is capable of. The sweet innocence of Stevie, and Ray's affection for him, becomes a reflection of Ray's past, and is a constant reminder of the inner struggle within Ray.This is a very violent film, and that may turn people off, but the violence is not gratuitous.

That might sound FACEtious however, to some extent Carlyle plays a similar sort of character who is unable to hold down a regular job. (Carlyle always has a look of total anxiety, as if he just opened up a tax audit it from the Inland Revenue). He is believable as Ray a gun welding crook , not a phyco path, but a former lefty who got fed up supporting fringe left-wing causes with nothing to show for it. He decides to earn a living the old fashioned way — 'by stealing it'! Ray struggles to balance a relationship with his mother, girlfriend as well as being troubled by his conscience about what he does. He does not particularly enjoy doing what he does and often wonders if it's worth it baring in mind he has done time in prison.It has the typical big robbery near the beginning where they have just two minutes to get in and out of the security complex, the obligatory 'have a go hero' guard who gets pistol whipped and then the escape. Much to the despair of the gang although they get a reasonable amount of cash by the time they take out expenses and split it 5 ways there not a lot to show for it. Was their poultry whack worth the risk for a 15 year stretch? To make matters worse and more complicated the tables are turned when the money is actually stolen from the gang, presumably by somebody who knows the routine and the gangs movements. Everybody suspects everybody else and Ray desperately tries to hold the gang together despite finger pointing, blame as well as trying to evade the police who are on to them. The next part of the film unfolds around betrayal, double crossing, desperation, evading capture and greed.The cast is good, Ray Winston does his usual, Damien Albarn tries to look tough, the weaselly nutter played by Philip Davis is entertaining and Steve Waddington plays a heavy that loves comics and is totally dependent on Ray for guidance . It's also good to see British veteran character Peter Vaughan no stranger to playing a crook , plus longtime downtrodden Brookside housewife Sue Johnson still rallying to left wing cause as Rays weary but devoted mum.Apart from the robbery there is a couple of big shoot outs, tension, a mystery, treachery and a couple of odd twists which keep up your interest. The conclusion of the movie is probably well balanced in the end most of the unlikable characters get what's coming to them! Despite possible flaws the cast certainly hold the movie together and it's well worth a watch!(Note: the greasy Irish junkie at the beginning was played by none other Gerry Conlon former Guildford bombing suspect whose conviction was quashed a number of years ago.)