Muscle

This film really kept me gripped for the first two thirds of the film and was heading for a 7-8 rating particularly with the performance of Fairbrass who I'm a huge fan of.

However it is ruined by a pointless unsatisfactory ending that left me feeling hugely disappointed. It was as if the writer didn't know where to go with it and it peters out into nothing. I also dont understand why the film was done in black and white. Not sure what that added. Would have been better in colour.

Very fine performance by Cavan Clerkin as the hapless call centre drone who gets sucked into an ever worsening nightmare via a dubious personal trainer. The sound design is particularly effective, with the sounds of the weights hitting the racks enough to make you recoil from the deafening clatter.

Whatever the opposite of a feel-good film is, this is it, but it holds one"s interest as the protagonist's dilemma becomes increasingly desperate. The black and white cinematography serves the bleak setting and storyline well. The abrupt ending will leave some viewers frustrated, but is certainly preferable to a pat and predictable conclusion that would have been the choice of a Hollywood studio.

A middle aged man crying on the way to a job he hates, is one of multiple images in this excellent nightmare that remains in the mind long after the film's end. Craig Fairbrass career best departure from 2 dimensional meatheat goons ,walks a line between being tender , menacing , funny and mysterious whilst Cavan Clerkin's metamorphosis is subtle and intriguing. There were so many opportunities where this film could have gone full blown Channel 5 after the plot was established, but it holds its nerve and stands its ground to remain original to the last scene. It's a very modern story which I'm sure will gather traction and status over the next few years as it is discovered. We must remember Sexy Beast was all but binned until other countries discovered it, it later was represented to us as a well loved classic. Without A listers to attract you, dream sequences to impress you , this black and white tale reveals much in the grey area for you and your friends to discuss. Excellent.

And also an excellent character study, the tale of the transformation of a man, married with a wife with whom he shares nothing at all and who decides to find a purpose to live, besides his stressful job that always pressurizes him towards performance. The study of human relations, human behavior and pulled from an unusual angle. Craig Fairbrass is outstanding here, for once not in a bad ass role. It's not only a film about bodybuilding, as BODYBUILDER was, but a real drama that also speaks about this sport. It talks about anabolic steroid use in bodybuilding and the dramatic effects on human behavior. I was also amazed by the transformation of the actor playing Simon, I hardly recognized him after 40 minutes, honestly. But if you want to begin training in that sport, maybe this is not the best way to do it; watching this movie, I mean. It denounces a real aspect of bodybuilding, steroid abuse, and it insists heavily on that point. And not only, because it also suggests the fact that this sport stimulazes homosexuality. But I will remind this film as a story about treason, betrayal in friendship. Many things remain unexplained - what the photos are about, what kind of stuff Simon had to smuggle in France, steroids? - but it seems to be the director's trade mark, remember his previous flick HYENA; not the same story but same dark, gloomy, depressing atmosphere and the same directing lines.

I don't normally write reviews but decided to because of some of the poor reviews and low rating which I really don't understand. This film really was enjoyable. Both Cavan Clerkin and Craig Fairbass I thought were exceptional. For their performances alone I would recommend you give this a watch. Craig Fairbass is extremely menacing and so unstable it is hard to feel any ease when he's on screen. Cavan Clerkin played his part perfectly. I was a little disappointed with the ending but I will watch it again so I may change my mind like I do sometimes after giving a movie another look. I believe this film would appeal to an audience in their 30s to 40s more so due to the characters and subject matter.