North v South

Very average British gangster film. Concept good executed so so. Not a bad watch, not the best.

I normally avoid these straight to DVD British gangster movies because they are generally crap. This one took my eye because it had a half decent cast with actors such as Bernard Hill , Steven Berkoff and Keith Allen and while this isn't as bad as most of the usual rubbish , even these actors , despite giving solid performances , can't make this a film that I can really recommend. The story is about two rival gangs from either ends of the country who are tying to and a feud but behind the scenes there is a romance that will never be tolerated , especially when one gang member is hell bent on destruction. I enjoyed the first half hour , especially the performance of Brad Moore but the film soon falls apart when the story seems to go pear shaped and in the end I didn't really care what happened to anyone

Firstly ..Charlotte who played Willow is drop dead gorgeous. I'm in love. Ha ha.

Had it's fun moments, good cast. The story did seem very patchy and some parts just leave you feeling wtf! Like the girl suddenly becoming a professional killer!? Ha ha.

But as said.......not the worst British Gangster film by any stretch........it had ambition. Did it achieve ......mostly but fell short in places also.....maybe due to inexperience.

Gustaf . ...... Fun character but tragically underdeveloped /used.

Did iention Willow was beautiful? 😍

I was taken to see this at a preview with a professional colleague and I went mainly on the strength of the cast present, I have to say it was extremely enjoyable, well shot, well paced and while not without its faults one of the better efforts by far of the recent deluge of gangster flicks.

A fairly simple premise, to rival firms, one from London and one from the North, agree a truce and meet up to discuss the terms, but things go awry when one of their number kills a relative of one of the leaders and pretty soon all out war follows. Meanwhile there is a Romeo and Juliet sub plot between two of the younger members of the opposing clans which will lead to greater jeopardy for all involved.

While the film isn't an especially original take on the tired genre it has many things going in its favour. Several heavy weight cast bring gravitas to their roles including Bernard Hill, Steven Berkoff, Oliver Cotton, Geoff Bell and surprisingly Keith Allen who has grown into an incredibly watchable mature actor and this film makes me want to see a great deal more of him. Freema Agyeman also excels in a role she can get her teeth into and Brad Moore is one step away from insane as the catalyst for everything spiralling out of control. The screenplay adds some unusual twists and characters, one being in the form of a French Transvestite (a nice debut by Dom Monot) hit-man/woman and there is a good sense history with these characters - In this world, they feel believable. The film is also shot in a style that looks and feels well considered, with a clear effort to bring mood and originality to the way the film. So my compliments to Kyle Heslop in this regard.

The film does have some weak links however they let it down a little. The romantic subplot feels a little implausible and also unnecessary and while Steve Evets is an actor that holds his own well on screen with any of his co-stars his endless voice over in the film starts to feel far to frequent. I actually wanted to see the film with no voice over at all. The film clearly didn't have the budget to match the scale in which the film is set - so it felt more like town vs town, rather than North Vs South, but it tries very hard and succeeds on many levels.

This film really deserves an audience, far more so than anything with the word 'Hooligan' or 'Essex' in the title that has been made in the last two years and for what it was I really enjoyed it.

If anyone is considering going to see British gangster flick 'North v South' in the hope that Elliott Tittensor will do a nude scene like he used to back in the good old 'Shameless' days, let me save you some money: he doesn't (although there are a couple of compensatory shirtless scenes). Having cleared that up, is the film worth seeing anyway? Well, fans of the genre will probably like it: it has lots of guns, oodles of mindless violence, a dangerous woman, a transsexual assassin, copious amounts of swearing and people who have been shot or burned with a flame-thrower recovering for a final bit of gunplay. To be fair, though, there are a couple of surprises: a little girl as a trainee assassin, and not one single scene set in a sleazy strip club.

Attempts by southern gangsters (led by Steven Berkoff and Keith Allen) and their northern rivals (Bernard Hill and Oliver Cotton) to reach a truce are derailed when a southern lieutenant slits the throat of Hill's best friend. The predictable gang war ensues, complicated by a Romeo and Juliet-style problem: northern lieutenant Terry (Tittensor) and Berkoff's insipid daughter Willow (Charlotte Hope) are secretly in love.

Berkoff is in full psycho scenery-chewing mode, while Hill delivers a more measured performance as far as the script allows. Tittensor doesn't do badly, but Hope is less impressive - although, given she has to burble lines like "Terry was my god" and "I'm nothing without you" that's hardly surprising. 'Doctor Who' fans will not be disappointed by Freema Agyeman as the tough-but-sexy female gangster.