I'm surprised by this films decent rating. I found myself playing with my phone which is unlike me. I try and give a film my fullest attention but this one was hard work. It seemed as if the cast were told to improvise each scene. Like something you'd do in drama class at school. The dialogue is slow and unnatural. The small talk felt forced with mundane subject matter. Pulp Fiction this is not! It made it hard to spark interest. I've heard more stimulating conversation on a school bus. What doesn't help are long pauses in between dialogue with character's heads and eyes constantly darting around offscreen - perhaps desperation to be doing something during the awkward silences onscreen. In one scene near the end the gangster boss says to Conor "this is painful" - this felt like genuine frustration for the lack of chemistry. I caught myself saying "I wholly agree!". Also when a stranger barges in, interrupts your rehearsals and asks you to step outside - surely your first question would be "who the **** are you?". But instead we watch a painfully awkward 2 minutes of unrealistic discourse unravel.
In the space of 2 minutes Tony's wife goes from "I don't want to see you" - to - "welcome home, don't hurt me again" then cheery laughter. Pointless drawn out scenes such as Conor trying to work a lighter or Tony brushing his teeth should've been dropped so more time could've been spent on the husband/wife reunion. The Conor/girlfriend scenes are poorly delivered too - with all that heavy breathing and chin crinkling I wasn't sure if he was working up to a cry or just filling space because she'd forgotten her lines.
The indoor scenes look bland with minimal props making the spaces look empty and unauthentic. The most obvious being the coke-snorting gangster's office which is literally an immaculate room with a desk, chair, laptop, notepad and pen. What kind of gangster work does he do again? Perhaps the intent was to make it impersonal but it comes off as staged and cheap.
On the positives, the ending has a bit of action and the outdoor shots of London give an atmospheric feel to the story. Also the lead (Tony) did a good job given what he had to work with. Some see more in this film but I found it hard work rather than entertaining. If you do try it, keep your phone nearby just in case.
In the space of 2 minutes Tony's wife goes from "I don't want to see you" - to - "welcome home, don't hurt me again" then cheery laughter. Pointless drawn out scenes such as Conor trying to work a lighter or Tony brushing his teeth should've been dropped so more time could've been spent on the husband/wife reunion. The Conor/girlfriend scenes are poorly delivered too - with all that heavy breathing and chin crinkling I wasn't sure if he was working up to a cry or just filling space because she'd forgotten her lines.
The indoor scenes look bland with minimal props making the spaces look empty and unauthentic. The most obvious being the coke-snorting gangster's office which is literally an immaculate room with a desk, chair, laptop, notepad and pen. What kind of gangster work does he do again? Perhaps the intent was to make it impersonal but it comes off as staged and cheap.
On the positives, the ending has a bit of action and the outdoor shots of London give an atmospheric feel to the story. Also the lead (Tony) did a good job given what he had to work with. Some see more in this film but I found it hard work rather than entertaining. If you do try it, keep your phone nearby just in case.