I Against I

When asked why I enjoyed this film so much I would say its charmingly grim atmosphere. I am struck by its mood-feeling of solitude and claustrophobia and yet paradoxically it takes place in London, one of the biggest and the most populous cities in Europe.

Its absence of top Hollywood stars is even an advantage. We expect such actors to play particular roles, but here it's different - for precisely this reason you look at the movie without preconception and get on with enjoying the puzzle. With Isaac and Ian (Ingvar Eggert Sigurðsson and Kenny Doughty) you can sense the fear, not of undefeatable heroes or immortal supermen, just people pushed to the limit. At the same time, the behavior of these characters gives the hint that they are not what they appeared to be at the beginning. With his craggy look and a natural performance, Ingvar was especially convincing to me. Joseph (Mark Womack), with an expressive manner, brings even darker balance to the script.

Here's bit of sad news - I missed seeing London crowds in the main storyline. To my eye, insignificant details like chatting couples or .. even a stray dog, that would have created a little more realism. On the other hand wasteful scenes and people don't work for me with a predominantly grim plot. What I did find frustrating was the unexplained bits. Why for example did it seem that Sophia(Sónia Balacó) plays the role of an ingénue as well as someone very shy? What was the origin of hatred between Carmichael and his father? There are hints but not quite enough.

Although once into the film you get to know who is who, paradoxically there is also some sort of unpredictability, and the final scenes are a surprise. Not only that, there are other turning points in store and an unexpected twist. Genuinely, I against I is pretty atmospheric (the action takes place at night) and in all likelihood it is not a likely film for fans of blockbusters or so-called epic movies that include spectacular explosions, millions of casualties etc. In this story there are no winners in spite of appearances. If you want to look at London in a slightly different way than usual, try I against I .

I know that not every British gangster flick should be measured against Guy Ritchie's work. And, to be fait, I Against I is nothing like Ritchie's work - in other words it's pretty awful. Whereas as Ritchie can make a complex narrative with numerous characters come together and let the viewer easily make sense out of it, I Against I just seems to want to play around with the narrative structure for the sake of it Basically, it's a jumbled mess. Again, the far superior Pulp Fiction moved beginning to end and vice versa and got away with it. Some films can do that. This one can't. Scenes seem to happen in random order, making it increasingly hard for the viewer to follow what's happening.

Then there's the characters - who cares about them? They're not particularly likable and the fact that the story's told out of order makes it hard to keep track of them.

A low budget British gangster film without any major names attached to it was always going to be hard work. And indeed it was.

I have just watched it and must say that I was constantly excited. The actors, especially Kenny Doughty, make the whole movie worth watching it. Of course it is not a Hollywood one but it is from UK! What I like on this movie that it was filmed in London which makes it really authentic. Of course some scenes are quiet tough but the good actors in it makes it a good film. I wish my English was a little bit better so that I could describe in more details. If you want watch a thrilling movie that comes from the UK, also with UK actors then I would say you got to watch it.To summarize it: over popcorn and beer I can really recommend watching it. Best greetings from Germany

Not nearly as good as the poster claims. A bit hit and miss throughout and barks more than bites. One of those films I would have completely forgotten about, if indeed I had not noted it down.

A couple of 1 star reviews given, so amongst the worst films ever made. And a 10 star review, so amongst the best ever films. Mmmm. Probably somewhere in the middle. Good points, cinematography is great, and there is a dark ambiance and mood to the film, it's not immediately obvious what is gong to happen, but it does confuse at times. Bad points, acting not so great, and maybe too much driving in cars. Also, is a bit tough to like he characters or care for them. I can think of loads of worse films, but I can also think of loads of better ones too. I recently saw The Master, and this film is nowhere near that, but is better than a film called The Covenant that I saw on DVD recently.