Sugarhouse

British crime movies are hardly a rarity in this day and age, but "Sugarhouse" stands head and shoulders above 95% of the other releases in the genre. On the surface, it's a remarkably simple movie about two troubled men and the problems that arise when one tries to sell a gun to the other.

Both Stephen Mackintosh and Ashley Walters deliver incredible performances as the two men, and are supported by an equally impressive offering by Andy Serkis as 'Hoodwink', the local drug-lord who was the original owner of the stolen weapon. Serkis oozes menace whenever he's on-screen, and his sudden bursts of violence are frightening to behold.

The writer deserves an equal share of the credit. I've lived in London for several years and can confirm that the terms and slang used by the characters are authentic. Secondly, the story is well written and keeps the interest throughout; a palpable feeling of tension and dread growing as the situation grows steadily worse. If there's any complaint to be made, it's most likely that the story could have found a more comfortable place on the stage than the screen due to the minimal number of locations used (most of the action takes place within one warehouse) and the long (but always interesting) conversations between characters.

I wasn't sure whether I'd enjoy watching "Sugarhouse" due to my overexposure to British crime movies, but i'm glad that I did. It was one of the better movies I've seen recently and surprised me in how well-made it was. Long after the eerie final scene, i find myself thinking back to those two broken men who met at a crucial point in both of their lives and subsequently changed each other - for better or for worse.

If you're a fan of serious crime movies such as "Reservoir Dogs" of "The Long Good Friday", it would be well worth your time to take a look at "Sugarhouse".

I got an invite to see a Preview screening of Sugarhouse Lane last Wednesday & it was a well attended affair in a Hotel screening Room.

The film is set in London, but not the tourist type London you'll have seen in most British Films. Thankfully there's no shot of 'The Gherkin' building which seems to have plagued all films set in London since around 2000.

Most of the action (if thats the right word) takes place in around a derelict warehouse in/or around a Council estate. D takes Tom to this place in order to do some business but has other plans. Unfortunately this is were the films Stage origins let it down because, the film becomes wordy & rather confined to this single location. The film is beautiful to look at, the DoP should be very proud of themselves. I saw the film in the company of a Film Director and that was a comment he agreed with. Look out for the final Crane shot at the end of the film which is just great..

As to the performances, there's a really great performance from Ashley Walters as D a Crack Addict/Hustler. IMHO it much more than the clichéd "Blackman Druggie" part British Black actors are asked to play. It's a really convincing turn as an addict up there with Willie Ross's Drunk Father in 'Rita, Sue and Bob Too' and Samuel L. Jackson's performance in 'Jungle Fever'. There's also a good performance from Andy Serkis as Hoodwink a Northern Irish hard man. Oh, look out for the girl who plays Hoodwinks girlfriend I think in the titles she's called 'Pregnant Girl'. She's in the film for no more than 5 - 6 minutes tops but there's something really striking about her.

I must admit I was expecting something different but that said, I was pleasantly surprised. The film is much better than say other films set in London with Urban theme's like 'Breaking and Entering'. A film well worth having a look at when or if it gets a UK Theatrical release.

The one thing you can say about this film was that the performances were all spot on...The cinematography was great as well. Also worth noticing that despite the mileu they didn't over-egg it with some crazy Gangsta Rap soundtrack. The screenplay could have been a bit better and sometimes you felt the same ground was being covered in dialogue. Sometimes motivation was questionable - but perhaps this was the point - these people were not exactly -stable....I believe it was adapted from a play & there were some good moments of humour - so all in all a good British film...although quite a hard film to watch & like - all the swearing & seediness...so definitely not one of the Merchant Ivory school.

Filmed on a relative microbudget, I was surprised this film was chosen by Slingshot as their first project, as the script really doesn't hold water and some clumsy dialogue really grates on the nerves.

As far as British films go I suppose it could have been a lot worse, and while I really didn't enjoy it the performances pull it through, right before it gets plain silly. In terms of the negative feedback that it's racked up here, most I agree with, however complaining that this film is awful because it's "like watching a play" is one of the most idiotic comments I've ever read, you're really telling us more about yourself then the film! It was based on a play which is usually no bad thing (have a look at The Big Kahuna for a good example of a one-set movie)

I saw this at a preview screening... it was a great atmosphere! Ashley Walters really impresses, are those really his teeth? He looks like he's been living in a sewer for a couple of years! He's trying to sell this gun to middle-class Steve Mackintosh, who has found himself for the first time on the wrong side of town as Walters takes him to his home- an abandoned old warehouse. Andy Serkis plays Hoodwink, who's this bloomin scary Ulster man who's somehow found himself on the local estate with his pregnant girlfriend and now runs it, oh and he's the original owner of this gun and he's not too happy that it's gone missing!

A special mention i think should go to Hoodwink's three henchmen/stooges. They haven't had much of a chance of being mentioned in the build-up to this film, especially when you have Walters, Mackintosh and Serkis starring, but as you will see they turn in really good performances that added to the film no end.

This is a side of the capital that is hardly ever shown in films and it was interesting to see, definitely an intention of the makers to juxtapose this ragged side of London with the brand spanking new (one shot pans up from the estate to a view of Canary Wharf that's just right next to it). The film's also quite bloody, but also had the audience roaring with laughter at some points! The characters were very well constructed and there are very good free-flowing performances by all the actors (director was previously an actor as well i think, so just let them get on with it)... well worth going to see.