The Business

I enjoyed this film. Some lines or scenes did make me cringe but only because those guys were really like that then. A bit like watching David Brent. The actors may have been Z grade but that just made it all the more real for me. It was like watching a slice of 80's small time hood life. If it had been slick with a Brad Pitt or directed by Scorcese it wouldn't have been the same. There is a time and a place for smooth Hollywood polish and its nice to see something that took you back to a time and place when cliché's weren't yet cliché's. The music is exactly what I was listening to back then. They are top 10 hits for a reason. And yes, guilty of track suits as well but walk around any city centre and you still see them, so this couldn't have missed the mark by much. All in all I had a good laugh and yeah, there is far better British made flicks that portray the gangster and drug industry but if you're looking for a small time look at a couple of losers trying to hit it big then this is a little slice of life for you.

Frankie is just a typical South London chav (or whatever they were called back then) until he runs an errand to the south of Spain for a local gangster. He delivers a bag to Charlie in the Costa del Crime and gets taken on as his driven. As time goes by Frankie becomes more than just "the kid Frankie" and this continues even when Charlie's violently irrational partner Sam gets back on the scene. However as the cocaine high of the 80's comes, the risks of his criminal live come all the realer to Frankie.

Clearly aiming to be some sort of "Costa del Goodfellas" story, Nick Love's film is a very by-the-numbers sort of affair that relies too much on the superficial things while forgetting things like characters and narrative. The storyline is very basic and it is all pretty obvious what the arch of the story will be, if not the exact detail. Love has put more effort into capturing the feel of the 1980's which, in fairness he does pretty well thanks to his set and costume people as well as a constant pop music soundtrack. This is all well and good and the story itself moves forward with this style as its driver but it doesn't really have much going on below the surface in terms of character.

Of course it doesn't really help that some of the performances are weak. Dyer does his usual cockney geezer thing and does change across the film (albeit in a basic way) but his narration is terrible. It feels like he is just reading the words and certainly isn't delivering them with any sense of who is character is or with any sense of emotion or understanding of the story he is telling. Hassan is a solid presence and actually does well with his character in the later stages of the film. Bell is obvious but OK while Chapman isn't half as sexy as she clearly has been told she is.

Overall then a fairly so-so British film that looks "the business" in regards the period and 80's gimmicks but really doesn't have much else going for. Maybe worth a look though if your expectations are reasonably low.

I loved this film, the music and the costumes, just caught the feel of the 80s and got it spot on.

Yes, none of the actors are that well known, but then in my book thats a good thing, I don't go into the film with any pre conceived ideas.

And yes sometimes the language does cut very close to the bone, but these people are hardened criminals, and its a 18 cert as well, so that should give you some idea of the content.

I say go and see it, and just enjoy yourself and have a few laughs for 2 hours.

And did i mention the sound track, dust off those shell suits and enjoy.

Rocket by a fine soundtrack, the story of a British gang, that has to leave England after a psychotic member screw up a robbery, they move on to a sunny Spain, there they are a successful on marijuana, supplying the England, then show up the newcomer Frankie, the leader Charlie sympathize with the boy, causing jealous on the troublemaker Sammy, moreover his beauty wife has an slight interest on the boy, the business is going up, the Mayor of the city allowed just marijuana and forbid cocaine, but due the cocaine has strong profits, they face the Major, average picture display to us the raise and fall of a powerful drug dealer, women, money and betrayal, when the things going down, just interesting, but nothing fresh!!!

Resume:

First watch: 2019 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD / Rating: 7

I can't get enough of gangsters . I saw GOODFELLAS for the 20th billionth time last week and I bought THE DEPARTED on DVD yesterday so earlier tonight I sat down to watch Nick Love's much hyped - At least much hyped by Film Four - gangster movie THE BUSINESS

Did I say I couldn't get enough of gangsters ? Perhaps what I meant to say was I can't get enough of Scorsese because I got the impression that Nick Love was trying to emulate Scorsese's style and that is fatal for any director . Like GOODFELLAS and several other Scorsese classics the musical soundtrack is very important but for some reason Love seems to have thrown as many pop songs as possible into the mix . It's mentioned that towards the end of the story that it's 1987 with much of the narrative taking place before this , but the 80s tracks seem to be placed without any thought being put into their appropriate place within the chronology

The story itself is similar to a Scorsese film in that it's male orientated and misogynistic . Only difference is that the female characters are central to the plot in the Scorsese universe while in THE BUSINESS they seem to exist to just so to set an amusing scene towards the end where Frankie has to earn some money and one can't help thinking perhaps Love should have concentrated on a style of his own and put more thought into his own screenplay or perhaps even have directed a story written by somebody else therefore this audience member wouldn't have structuralist theories while watching a Nick Love movie

As for the cast I do remember writing in my review of BORSTAL BOY that Danny Dyer is an actor who could become a big name and I still stick by that but it's obvious he's rather unconvincing as a big hard gangster . I also couldn't help noticing that Camille Coduri and Linda Henry seem to be playing the same characters ( Though far more foul mouthed ) that they play in DOCTOR WHO and EASTENDERS respectively but as I said their characters are woefully underdeveloped so perhaps I shouldn't blame the actresses

THE BUSINESS is loud , violent and foul mouthed but most of all disappointing . Like OUTLAW the screenplay needed more work on it and perhaps the next film Love makes has a stronger producer who wants to find out like this audience member if he has an idiosyncratic style of his own