Post by Dirty Epic on Feb 3, 2017 14:59:40 GMT
Just wondering if anyone else is a fan of the 1997 film Face which featured Robert Carlyle, Ray Winstone, Phil Davis, Stephen Rea, Damon Alban and the late Peter Vaughan.
{Spoiler Alert - Click Here To Reveal}
The film’s better than how I’ll describe and I’ve tried to review this without telling all and not looking at over reviews online. Face mainly focuses on Ray (Carlyle) a once left-wing activist who has drifted into the career criminal world with his associate Dave (Winstone). They’re part of a tight knit ‘firm’ it seems controlled by East End villain Sonny (Vaughan) involved mainly in armed robberies but also side-activities like taxing drug dealers/users and the like.
The ‘firm’ have a armed robbery planned at a security depot in Hounslow. Using a lorry with a welded battering ram they smash their way into the warehouse and terrify the workers inside whilst proceeding to rob bags full of cash. However one of the firm Julian (Davis) is a lose cannon and goes beyond the three minutes they have to do the robbery before the police respond. As a consequence they have to make a hasty escape from the police and loose a few bags of cash – possibly containing high value currency, due to Julian’s actions.
When they return to the flop Dave realises the job hasn’t netted anywhere near enough the amount of cash he’d hoped for. Also Julian after antagonising Jason (Alban) starts playing up with Dave and Ray about his expenses for the flop, vehicles and ‘logistics’ for the job. After a heated argument with Dave and Ray about these ‘expenses’ Julian pulls his favourite pump action shotgun on them and demands his payment. However Ray has a loyal friend in Steve (Rea) who he was inside with a decade earlier who incapacitates Julian and enables Ray and Dave to take control of the situation. Steve and Jason split from the flop and leaving Ray and Dave to consider how to deal with Julian. After leaving the flop and a nervous Dave concerned about a police car eyeing them up they dump Julian in West London and pay him a little over the odds for his expenses.
Later Ray, Dave, Steve and Ray’s girlfriend Connie (Leena Headey) are at a party at a East End pub for Sonny. Sonny enjoys taking the mick and insulting Dave and when Dave’s daughter Sarah (Christine Tremarco) and police detective boyfriend Chris (Andrew Tiernan) stick their heads in Sonny delights in telling a sordid tale to the whole pub of what Chris wants to do to Sarah much to the irritation of Dave. This sets off a chain of events in which a series of double crosses, murder and police shoot outs occur. Eventually Ray, Steve and Julian realise Dave has been a traitor in the midst and the ‘work’ they’ve been getting from Dave has come from a corrupt detective – Chris.
Ray also after earlier meeting his mum (Sue Johnston) at a demonstration realises his life of crime and London generally has been the wrong path for him. The thing is can he get out of this life safe and clean with his girlfriend Connie and people he cares about Steve.
Face is very much of the time (mid-90’s). Yes it’s ‘Cool Britannia’ and Britpop references (soon to be rather awkwardly co-opted by politicians) and the left-wing sub-plot in Face in hindsight didn’t/hasn’t achieved – in my opinion, what it should have done when for what of a better word considering the weight of backing Blair’s New Labour got in 1997 the year of this films release. This underlying message in Face may not be for everyone, however these flaws aside it shouldn’t really put you off it as beyond this director Antonia Bird puts together a very good gangland/British crime film there which certainly wasn’t really being made around that time and is definitely aren’t being made now.
Yes it’s certainly not in the same league as say a Villain, Get Carter, The Squeeze, Long Good Friday etc. perhaps maybe not even in the same league as The Sweeney but it was perhaps one of the best 1990’s attempts at a British gangster/crime film. Both Robert Carlyle and Phil Davis are great in Face but Ray Winstone is bang on in it and his role as world-weary Villain Dave seemed very realistic and fitted him like glove – why the hell was he so over the top as Regan (sic) in 2012’s The Sweeney I’ll never know.
If you like this sort of thing you’ll like Face and I’ll fully recommend it to everyone on the forum. Also it’s soundtrack of 1990's indie rock and underground dance music from that period has a few gems you may have forgotten about too. Overall I’d rate it a good 8.5/10 has it’s flaws but also has it’s charms and is a good effort overall
The film’s better than how I’ll describe and I’ve tried to review this without telling all and not looking at over reviews online. Face mainly focuses on Ray (Carlyle) a once left-wing activist who has drifted into the career criminal world with his associate Dave (Winstone). They’re part of a tight knit ‘firm’ it seems controlled by East End villain Sonny (Vaughan) involved mainly in armed robberies but also side-activities like taxing drug dealers/users and the like.
The ‘firm’ have a armed robbery planned at a security depot in Hounslow. Using a lorry with a welded battering ram they smash their way into the warehouse and terrify the workers inside whilst proceeding to rob bags full of cash. However one of the firm Julian (Davis) is a lose cannon and goes beyond the three minutes they have to do the robbery before the police respond. As a consequence they have to make a hasty escape from the police and loose a few bags of cash – possibly containing high value currency, due to Julian’s actions.
When they return to the flop Dave realises the job hasn’t netted anywhere near enough the amount of cash he’d hoped for. Also Julian after antagonising Jason (Alban) starts playing up with Dave and Ray about his expenses for the flop, vehicles and ‘logistics’ for the job. After a heated argument with Dave and Ray about these ‘expenses’ Julian pulls his favourite pump action shotgun on them and demands his payment. However Ray has a loyal friend in Steve (Rea) who he was inside with a decade earlier who incapacitates Julian and enables Ray and Dave to take control of the situation. Steve and Jason split from the flop and leaving Ray and Dave to consider how to deal with Julian. After leaving the flop and a nervous Dave concerned about a police car eyeing them up they dump Julian in West London and pay him a little over the odds for his expenses.
Later Ray, Dave, Steve and Ray’s girlfriend Connie (Leena Headey) are at a party at a East End pub for Sonny. Sonny enjoys taking the mick and insulting Dave and when Dave’s daughter Sarah (Christine Tremarco) and police detective boyfriend Chris (Andrew Tiernan) stick their heads in Sonny delights in telling a sordid tale to the whole pub of what Chris wants to do to Sarah much to the irritation of Dave. This sets off a chain of events in which a series of double crosses, murder and police shoot outs occur. Eventually Ray, Steve and Julian realise Dave has been a traitor in the midst and the ‘work’ they’ve been getting from Dave has come from a corrupt detective – Chris.
Ray also after earlier meeting his mum (Sue Johnston) at a demonstration realises his life of crime and London generally has been the wrong path for him. The thing is can he get out of this life safe and clean with his girlfriend Connie and people he cares about Steve.
Face is very much of the time (mid-90’s). Yes it’s ‘Cool Britannia’ and Britpop references (soon to be rather awkwardly co-opted by politicians) and the left-wing sub-plot in Face in hindsight didn’t/hasn’t achieved – in my opinion, what it should have done when for what of a better word considering the weight of backing Blair’s New Labour got in 1997 the year of this films release. This underlying message in Face may not be for everyone, however these flaws aside it shouldn’t really put you off it as beyond this director Antonia Bird puts together a very good gangland/British crime film there which certainly wasn’t really being made around that time and is definitely aren’t being made now.
Yes it’s certainly not in the same league as say a Villain, Get Carter, The Squeeze, Long Good Friday etc. perhaps maybe not even in the same league as The Sweeney but it was perhaps one of the best 1990’s attempts at a British gangster/crime film. Both Robert Carlyle and Phil Davis are great in Face but Ray Winstone is bang on in it and his role as world-weary Villain Dave seemed very realistic and fitted him like glove – why the hell was he so over the top as Regan (sic) in 2012’s The Sweeney I’ll never know.
If you like this sort of thing you’ll like Face and I’ll fully recommend it to everyone on the forum. Also it’s soundtrack of 1990's indie rock and underground dance music from that period has a few gems you may have forgotten about too. Overall I’d rate it a good 8.5/10 has it’s flaws but also has it’s charms and is a good effort overall