Sr. Morte

I purchased this flick as a insert to polish home video magazine with the strong cover recommendation. Never heard indeed about the Mr Sarossy and about the actors so it made me really curious but suspicious (british gangster movies are not my favorite especially made by overrated Mr Ritchie). But "Aniol Smierci (Angel of death)" (polish title) was a great surprise for me. For the long time I haven't seen so tense, disturbing and depressive movie. It shocks even with the rather low amount of gore on screen. My wife started to watch withe me but after 20 minutes she runs away saying "it won't be happy end". She has damned right. There was no happy anding but happy ending is impossible. Perfect evil can't be redeemed by the money and even love. Why Neil Jordan?? In some moments the film reminds me "Mona Lisa" and "Crying games". Why David Lynch?? Tattooed Man looked like he escapes from "Blue Velvet" or "Mulholland Dr". I've also in mind some movies of Kieslowski and - of course - "Leon" (comparing with the "Aniol smierci" a good-old-family-cinema)

I watched this movie yesterday…

This movie came highly recommended by one of my friends and I was lucky to find it on DVD .

It is one of the best British movies I've come across at recent times.

It traces the life story of a hit man, who is working for a mobster. All the characters are complex.

All the actors (all were unfamiliar faces) have given brilliant performances.

The story revolves around our hit man, who one day comes across a woman on whom he had a crush long back.

He want to quit his profession an lead a normal life, but he realizes that he is caught in between two diverse worlds,

one of his mobster boss and other the normal one.

By the way the movie has achieved cult status in the lines of "Fight Club" (that's another awesome movie).

I've very little time for the Brit crime explosion of recent years, especially all those cheeky chappy Cockney gangster movies inspired by Guy Ritchie. Even 'Sexy Beast' didn't quite do it for me. Apart from the underrated 'Gangster No.1' these movies aren't a patch on 1980s Brit gangster classics like 'The Long Good Friday' or 'The Hit'. I nearly bypassed 'Mr. In-Between' at first thinking it was going to more of the same, but it's actually much richer and more interesting. I was shocked at how impressed I was by this film. I'd definitely say it's one of the most underrated British movies of the last ten years. The story concerns a British hit man working for a gangster but the characters are more complex than usual and the plot doesn't go in the same old tired directions. The movie is a first for the director (Paul Sarossy) and writer (Paul Waddington). Sarossy is a Canadian cinematographer who has worked on some of Atom Egoyan's best known movies, and Waddington is usually an actor. But boy, is this an impressive debut! Andrew Howard is an unfamiliar face to me but he gives a superb performance as Jon, the hit man. Equally good is David Calder, the "Tattooed Man", Jon's enigmatic boss. The relationship between the two is left ambiguous, and that's one of the things which makes this movie a cut above your standard thriller. In fact even calling it a thriller at all may be doing it a bit of a disservice. I highly recommend 'Mr In-Between' for those who enjoy dramas with a bit of depth and subtlety, and I really hope that Paul Sarossy gets the opportunity to direct again as he shows great promise. This movie is destined to become a cult favourite.

As a big fan of the book, I was thrilled to find out that it had been made into a film. I certainly wasn't disappointed. It's tense and well-paced with a wonderful cast. I've not encountered Andrew Howard before, I don't think, but he portrayed a man whose humanity is slowly leached from him with absolute conviction. So much better than the slew of British gangster films which have emerged recently, avoiding gimmicky camerawork and actors more known for the celebrity than their talent. Strongly recommended, even for those who aren't necessarily fans of the genre.

My Advice: Ignore the 6/10 rating. Chances are you hadn't heard of this movie save by random chance, and perhaps you read the synopsis and your interest was piqued. If so watch this movie; it delivers in many ways, and if you are a fan of the genre (dark, ambient, crime, drama, with some philosophy thrown in), then you are in for a treat. I imagine the lower-than-deserved rating was due to people merely not liking the the genre or the ending.

Now I complain about the 6/10 and only give a 7/10. I understand that most people's ratings are different than mine. This film is good but not perfect...one I will recommend to friends and the fans of the genre(s), but with an addendum: It is a fairly slow movie, with not much major event happening. The movie is paced differently in that most popular movies follow a intro/rising action/climax/resolution pattern, this movie does not (really). Truly you won't really know what the point of the movie is until closer to the end, which for some will be a turnoff. I like that fact though especially because the writer/director does a great job of keeping you distracted with some good relationships, character development, and frankly good acting.

Give it a shot if you're getting tired of traditional Hollywood hogwash.