Complicity

Vile, violent, but intelligent thriller about a writer for an expose newspaper shocked to discover that everybody he was going to ruin in the press is turning up dead and all the clues point to him as the killer.

The premise may not sound like much, but just give this film a chance and watch it. You'll be surprised. It goes in directions that you would never expect, yet they are all credible. It also doesn't go for the easy answers in trying to wrap up it's little mystery. As good as the whole film was I never expected them to create a good ending for it, but yet again the script surprised me there too. A very good film.

Rated R; Graphic Violence, Profanity, Drug Use, Adult Themes, Sexuality.

"Complicity" is the second Iain Banks novel turned into a film, but while it is made for the big screen, it does not live up to the standards set by BBC's mini series "The Crow Road". While it is an entertaining and gripping thriller set in Edinburgh and the Highlands, it ultimately fails to convey the spirit of the book. The cast are good, though, and the story is excellent.

It looks like a TV film, and while it is not exactly a wasted opportunity to bring Iain Banks to the cinema, it is slightly disappointing, although still worth watching.

First I read the book, which is highly recommendable, and I have it as one of my top books ever. Later on I watched the film, and I found it good. I think the characters are casted very well, except perhaps William, but, on the other hand, Keely Hawes plays Yvonne very well.

I think the film misses out some important information on the book that give sense to the story. The film changes a couple of things here and there and does not fully respect the final, which I find a bad error. I think if the film had been 30 minutes longer it would have been a world success.

My review seems negative but only because the book is superb. Of course the plot is good, the actors are good and the story flows well. I do wonder, however, if I have been able to follow the whole plot because I know the book inside out or because it is well told. I had the feeling a couple of times that the story was told in chunks.

Do watch the film, but read the book first

sometimes, a film can suffer greatly from just one drawback, even if everything else is top notch. unfortunately, this is the case here.

this film, based on iain banks' novel, is an impressive production, with excellent actors, breathtaking scottish settings, believable and very enjoyable character quirks, truly shocking murders, suspense and even some steamy sex.

however, "complicity" doesn't quite succeed, and i can only trace it back to one thing: it's much too compressed. i haven't read the original novel, but it's obvious a great deal of it made it to the screen; unfortunately, the film's 93 minute running time just doesn't suffice for this epic tale: cameron colley's journalistic investigation into several seemingly unrelated murders, egged on by a mysterious anonymous source, which causes him to clash with his disapproving bosses; his relationships with his old friends, and the many secrets they share; his affair with yvonne; the various grisly murders as seen by the killer; flashbacks to cameron's childhood and teenage years; and the psychologically jarring moments after cameron becomes the police's prime suspect.

of course, this film offers many funny, thrilling, surprising and shocking moments, but they're all a bit rushed. a longer format would have benefitted this film greatly. banks' exceedingly clever and profound story manages to come over very well, but the film is so densely packed that i'd recommend you take small breaks so as to take everything in; make a cup of coffee or something and come back, as you would to a good novel (of course you could go straight to the source, but me, i'd rather watch the movie.)

the fabulous bbc production of banks' "the crow road" shows the extent to which a longer format is more suitable to his multifaceted stories.

A film based on the Iain Banks novel with the same name. As a major Iain Banks fan I decided to read the book before I watched the film, I'm sure glad I did. The book is very good (like all Banks's novels), unnerving, exciting and very well written. However, in the film the director have managed to exclude the good things about the book, resulting in a depressing, unthrilling thriller without bite. Only watch this if you're bored, actually don't, read the book instead!