Man Dancin'

Good flick...

This is much more than a Glasgow gangster movie.

It's much more.

This is about redemption, the cost of redemption, integrity, honesty, integrity of a message, what happens when you water down a message, you have to keep lying to cover up lies, what price are you prepared to pay for integrity? And that you can't kill off truth because it will rise again.

It is well acted. The music is Scottish without being poxy. (You know what I mean...corny bagpipes). The music works well.

I have no idea the lead actor was in Eastenders, so I had no preconceived ideas. He did well in taking his character away from being one dimensional.

It obviously was not a high budget movie, but don't let that put you off. It actually gave it a down to earth feel.

A very good movie. Look below the surface and be very rewarded.

STAR RATING: ***** The Works **** Just Misses the Mark *** That Little Bit In Between ** Lagging Behind * The Pits

Just released from prison, Jimmy Kerrigan (Alex Ferns) wants to stick to the terms of his parole and stay out of trouble. But no sooner has he arrived back at his front door than his typically erstwhile younger brother Terry (Cas Harkins) is being hounded by a couple of local drug dealers who are unhappy he's been operating on their patch and Jimmy is left to take a beating for him. Also, his mother's at death's door, he's struggling to find work and he's being hounded by an uncompromising local gang boss (James Cosmo) and a persistent copper (Kenneth Cranham) who are both convinced he'll go back to his old ways. The only one who sees any hope for him is the local priest (Tom Georgeson) who gives Jimmy a part in a church play. This small act of kindness comes to be something Jimmy really throws himself into and uses as a lynchpin to turn his life around. But this new-found happiness cannot last forever and it's only a matter of time before Jimmy is dragged kicking and screaming back into the life he'd vowed to leave behind.

You'll certainly see worse 'gangster trying to go straight' flicks than Man Dancin'. It's comedic where it needs to be, touching where it needs to be and brutally hard where it needs to be. In his first notable role since leaving East Enders, Ferns provides a good, solid leading role who handles his material well, and he has good support in the shape of Cranham (the best of them), Harkins, Cosmo and so.

It loses it's way a little at the end and becomes a little rambling and incoherent but, like I said, you'll see far worse. ***

Well now this strange movie. It was listed as a comedy but I certainly found nothing to laugh at. Actually I am struggling to find anything positive to say about this film. Oh here I go. Alex Ferns is not bad in the lead role and I did not pick the ending for a change, but apart from that this has no great direction solidly two dimensional characters and is not funny enough to be a comedy or serious or dark enough to be any form of decent drama. I would really avoid ever having to watch this movie again and think it does nothing to benefit any of the working class characters it is attempting to portray. I found it hard to empathise for any of the characters and was not given enough information on the lead character Jimmy to believe his motives. Best avoided.

Overall this movie is well above average. It gives a different spin to the usual gangster theme. It is a drama about an ex-convict trying to make it good in his old neighbourhood and all the obstacles he comes across. I noticed a Christianity theme which was fairly prevalent throughout the film. Right form the beginning when he 'turned the other cheek' through to his 'sacrifice' at the end. Alex Ferns (as Kerrigan) puts in a very credible performance as the reformed convict. You can almost feel his frustration as he holds himself back from lashing out at those badass criminals. Obviously Brits will appreciate him more given his background as the badboy in Eastenders. James Cosmo was excellent as the Kingpin 'Quinn'. I'd only wish be got what he had coming to him (no wife beater ever gets away in my books/films). Some of the locations picked for this show are classic. Was it the Glasgow Royal Infirmary for the hospital scenes? I tried to look for clues but couldn't see any. The clincher for me was the 'Garage' nightclub in Glasgow! Again this will strike a note with locals. You've not seen Glasgow until you've been to 'The Garage'!! The toilet scene in particular is not far from reality! In summary, Melodrama? Maybe. But good melodrama nonetheless(4/5 stars).

I saw this film at a test screening in Glasgow. Personally i thought it sucked big time, but then again "gangster" films aren't really my kinda thing. It was good to see a Scottish film for a change, in a setting which is really familiar to me, especially the Garage!! Haha. However, i don't think that people from anywhere other than Scotland would understand most of it!!

I thought however, that in the version we saw, the whole passion play part of it wasn't explained very clearly, and that it was a little far fetched in parts.

It's also good to see Scottish Talent being used because i think we don't see enough of our talent on the screen.