Man Dancin'

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.

In its favour MAN DANCIN' opening titles shows us exactly where it's set - On a rundown council estate in Glasgow which I'm fairly certain in the notorious Gorbals so director Norman Stone can be proud that he's brought a very strong sense of place to his film . Unfortunately Sergio Casci's screenplay then hits the audience in the mouth with a cliché as soon as the credits stop . Hardman Jimmy Kerrigan is released from jail and gets into an argument with a couple of local yobs which ends up with him getting a serious doing . A few minutes later we're introduced to the local gangster kingpin Donnie McGlone and then local DI Pancho Villers and it's at this point you realise you're watching a Western uprooted to present day Glasgow . It's almost like watching Jean Luc Goddard's ALPHAVILLE where the visuals on screen are entirely different from what is written down on the page . Honestly you get the suspicion that the screenplay was written as a star vehicle for Clint Eastwood in the early 1970s where the man with no name is trying to go straight

Having said that at least the production team of MAN DANCIN' haven't aped the style of Guy Ritchie which is a major problem with British films featuring gangsters from the same period but would it be uncharitable to point out that both film makers and audiences had become terminally bored with this genre ? The cast do their best with the material but it's a very clichéd melodrama that is entirely about redemption but for some reason remains watchable . It's as forgettable as it is watchable too

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).

12 years ago Man Dancin' came out and it was luckily enough an amazing film about how much involvement there was in Gangland Glasgow. Many people working on the film as extras came from a couple of the locations used. However it is looking back on it now much much of the film can be used to describe Glasgow's culture now. Having been involved with the film it is remarkable how well crafted Sergio Casci's writing played to convey Glasgow's historical problem with Religious sectarianism and how much has been done to reduce this. Another brilliant craft is and was the usage of actors who have since been stalwarts in Scottish television. Frank Gallagher is the undisputed and underrated actor in the whole production and his verve to provide comic relief in a somewhat serious film about life and death proves invaluable to the audience's experience of Glasgow's culture.