Sorted

How on earth this film isn't more widely regarded is beyond me.

I picked it up for £1, and I'm not exaggerating when I say it's the best pound I've ever spent on a film.

The thing that usually lets films about the club scene down is either the music or the actual scenes filmed in clubland.

Here, the music and club scenes are completely credible,using some big tunes of the time, and filmed in real clubs, with people actually looking like they want to be there.

The performances from the actors are of a high standard all round, although Jason Donovan in particular for me stands out (he was playing Frank N Furter in The Rocky Horror Show in London at roughly the time this must have been filming, so his drag phase was in full flow!), and of course Tim Curry who's eloquent drug land boss is convincing.

Simply put, if you're a fan of British film you have to see this, it matters not a jot if you're into clubbing as the film is strong enough as a story anyway.

Highly recommended.

Who am I, a meagre spectator and wannabe film critic, to suggest how this film could have been better? No one really, but given this film's promising premise, it is quite frustrating that the ultimate result is so full of avoidable flaws.

What this film could have been was an exploration of our capital's club and drug culture with the classical narrative of a detective movie. In this scenario, we happily discover, through the investigations of our central character, exactly what circumstances led to the sinister happenings at the film's outset.

Alas though, this does not happen. We start to find things out that our detective does not know, thus dispelling the sense of mystery that was (well) established earlier.

This frustration, added to the unfathomable casting and actual existence of the Tim Curry character, ultimately makes the film almost a chore to watch. How did this guy ever become an actor? His mere presence makes the skin crawl and his acting style redefines the word hammy.

Our hero also starts to make some strange and uncharacteristic decisions, like taking drugs with a woman he does not trust and immersing himself in the culture of which he knows his unfortunate brother was a victim.

Attempts at quirkiness, which are so typical of recent British fare, also fall flat and miss the tone of the film. Namely, the femme-fetale calling our hero by the name of his home town Scunthorpe throughout, and a martial arts "expert" inspired by the Streetfighter video games.

Whack on a farcical James Bond style ending and what you've got is a complete bodged job of a movie - a great shame when you consider what it might have been.

STAR RATING:*****Unmissable****Very Good***Okay**You Could Go Out For A Meal Instead*Avoid At All Costs

Intriguing the potential viewer with an invigorating trailor,Sorted is sadly yet another poor example of how a lot of British films are stuffing their own industry up very bad.The worst out a lot in fact.The first film I ever saw in the new UGC cinema on Broad Street in the centre of Birmingham,if I can't convince anyone else not to see the film (which I certainly hope I can),I would certainly hope any epileptic critics heed my warning and stay away from it,as some of the scenes in the nightclub are very loud and flashy indeed,and sitting in the cinema auditorium would be quite a nightmare.

But hopefully not as much a nightmare as having to see such a senseless plot that only even begins to comprehensibly unravel until the end.And Tim Curry gave an abysmally stupid performance as the head bad guy,adding an edgy comedic touch to a film that was'nt trying to head in that direction.One can only assume the scriptwriters had themselves been taking drugs at the time of writing this,and probably been hit very hard over the head with a steel hammer too.*

The club scenes, probably filmed in the Ministry were excellent, although the context, being a poor northern boy from Scunthorpe wandering into an alien world, was a bit over-played. Some of the best clubs in England are in Yorkshire these days! The clubbers we are introduced to are caricatures. Tim Curry as the villain was dreadful and the plot meandered and lacked credibility. All up the film tried to do too much. "Human Traffic" may have been a bit silly but was much more true to club culture. The thriller component in "Sorted" echoed a little of "Usual Suspects", but certainly was not in the same league. The acting from Matthew Rys and Sienna Gullory, as the leads, was excellent and hopefully a leg-up for them to get better roles. Special mention for an almost unrecognizable Jason Donovan, who played an excellent drag queen, very convincingly!

If Human Traffic was daft teenagers on E, this is grown-ups taking the enjoyment of the whole club scene quite seriously. The chemicals almost seep out from the sprocket holes and entrance your brain as the pumping house music raises the adrenalin. Contrasting the warm and caring side of clubbing with the dark underside of mafioso controllers makes for a good thriller. Somehow the tension in the latter half doesn't quite match anticipation, and the clubbers are rather caricaturesque Londoners, but the whole thing is worth it for the mesmerizing re-creation of trance and techno (a word to people not into this music - you don't *have* to take E to enjoy it or enjoy clubbing to it.)