Hyena

the funny is that after so many years trying so hard to sit through all the crime genre films out of the British movie industries, none of them ever could hold my focus and most of the time, i just quit after tormenting and torturing myself for about 20 to 30 boring, uninteresting of my life. except kept hearing the modern curse word "Fxxking" this, "Fxxking" that, a word used to be "Bloody" couple of years ago in every British movie, there was nothing coherent enough to be recognized as a 'good' enough movie, albeit 'decent' or even 'great' one.

this 'hyena' is no exception at all. what a bore, man. full of unlikable screen personalities, bored to death scenarios and storyline, cardboard acting, non-exit direction, what we got here is nothing but another hyped hollow, snail-crawling crap out of London. the average ratings on IMDb are around 6+_, and on rottentomatoes.com even got a higher 7+ rating average, gee, are we watching the same movie of the same title? i really don't want to write a review of this typical British tasteless wax ball, but i just couldn't help myself, man. watching this movie is like when hiking on the mountain trail, i suddenly overhear a mountain goat 'Meh...meh...' behind some rocks.

In the seamy underworld of London cops, everyone plays by their own rules. There is no one to trust. Police units are in league with criminals and competing with each other for increasing shares of the profits. Laws are not enforced so much as used for advantage over others. As vice cop Michael Logan, with a coke habit and indolent nature, attempts to carve out a larger share of the illicit income for himself, he gets trapped between a ruthless pair of Albanian brothers and his fellow officers who are trying to trap him. Those who should be protected by the law are instead neglected and placed in greater danger. The director and writer based the character of Logan on someone he knew personally. Despite shaky acting of some in the supporting cast, this is a compelling portrait of police officers who are indistinguishable from criminals. The betrayals and back stabbings are underscored by a dark soundtrack by Matt Johnson and The The. Seen at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival.

First of all, if you do not get what this movie is truly about. Don't watch it, bothering to comment on how you don't get the point. That being said, which might be a bit upsetting for some. This film was really an enjoyable experience, in the sense that it is quite rare to watch the guts pouring out of honest film making. The acting is brilliant, tone is consistent throughout the film, which is rare enough to be mentioned. It is quite graphic, since most people experienced breaking bad, it is OK. Soundtrack by "the the" adds to the magnetic feel of the film. The action is driven, captivating, edgy. This is how more movies need to be made. I won't even compare to other, bigger budget, commercially successful gangster films. I won't explain the end since I found it quite good. Bonus if you read the anecdote section. Liked this movie a lot as you can tell by now. Thanks if you took time to read this review.

A corrupt cop Michael leads a team who tackle drug trafficking in London. But they act more like a gang of criminals themselves. Michael habitually cuts deals with the dealers but the arrival of two violent Albanian criminals, who not only traffic drugs but young women as well, presents him with a moral dilemma; while at the same time his team's corruption is threatened with exposure by an old colleague from his past who is assigned to work alongside them.

The hyena of the title is of course the bad cop Michael played by Peter Ferdinando. He is a pretty unglamourized central character. I was brought to mind of the film Pusher, particularly the remake set in London. Both films have protagonists who are engulfed in immorality and who are set on a downward spiral, while both also have scarily authentic ethnic gangsters from the south eastern Mediterranean providing the main threat of brutality. But maybe it's this very familiarity that is the problem, in that it seems like we have been here before with British crime flicks. What does stand out somewhat are the occasional moments of extreme grimness. On a few occasions we are presented with pretty visceral violence or the results of it, while there is also the repulsive sight of an overweight man having sex with a comatose girl to contend with. These horrible moments do hit home though and ensure this is a film that doesn't pull its punches. It's a film that is stylised at times, such as the opening assault of the neon lit club, and with an effective moody soundtrack from, of all people, The The. But it certainly isn't over-stylised which is something many other recent examples in the crime genre are, this ensures it has a grittier aesthetic overall which fits in with the story. On the whole though, there's nothing really new here though so in the final analysis it's a solid film as opposed to a very good one.

The film is about a corrupt policeman's investigation into a drug and trafficking ring and while undercover, trying to help one of the many victims. Writer/Director Gerard Johnson previously made Tony (2009) a brilliant pitch black comedy/drama about a suburban serial killer. This one is played pretty much straight and therefore more of a tough watch. It does have very graphic content including moments of genuinely shocking violence (including a brilliant moment towards the beginning depicting the aftermath of a murder which I gasped so loud at) and a very unsettling tone throughout. Johnson's main collaborator Peter Ferdinando plays the central character Michael Logan and he is absolutely fantastic! Performances all round are great and especially Elisa Lasowski's role as Ariana; a terrified individual who keeps her head down in order to not be subjected to the absolute horror of being sold to men again. She is the victim of atrocious abuse as shown in one harrowing sequence and you really want her to escape. Perhaps the downfall of the film is it's overly ambiguous and frustrating ending which in some ways is an indicator of just how gripping the film was up until then. It also feels long but I think that's the case as it is such an exhausting watch at times because of its disturbing subject matter. It is a haunting and relentless portrayal of a seedy underworld accompanied by a hugely atmospheric score by Matt Johnson