London Kills Me

I found this film to be very touching and intelligent in the subtlety of language and human interaction it portrays. It's not overwhelming, as many films with drug/street culture themes are, but, rather, very intent on describing the emotional nuances of the characters' personalities. Unlike more popular films which describe a downward spiral and general glamour of a pathetic existence, this film concentrates on the human evolutionary condition into something better than one was yesterday. The main character is such a sweet personality, that, unlike "Trainspotting," et.al., I really felt emotionally involved in the story, rather than just watching it out of a misguided curiosity as to what it would be like to be an addict. Overall, London Kills Me has just the right mix of "style," drama, and comedy to make it a film I'd recommend for anyone to watch more than once.

See this movie! Sure, the lives of the characters in it are terribly sad, but the only grim sort of sadness I felt, watching this, was due to the overwhelming lack of such richness in most American films. We're talking actors who throw themselves into their parts, rather than ride the oily wave of celebrity. We're talking a script that tackles, with only minute concessions to gimmickry (at times the playfulness crosses over into winsomeness), the true complexity of human beings. Clint, Muffdiver, and Sylvie are multi-faceted, unfolding (but only so far--no easy answers here) characters. The end's a bit tidy, but this remains a minor qualm in light of the film's rewards.

I really like this film! Of course the apparent main story of the shoes is nonsense, but I see this as a kind of a modern fairy tale. A very likable, light hearted story of a group of misfits & druggies going on with their life. I could relate to the characters quite well and many of them reminded me of people I know so even though basically they are obvious caricatures, IMO they are based enough on reality to make them fit for a film. The pace of the film is very loose & relaxed, and it has that special kind of... (sorry I'm not a native speaker) serendipity? Surprising beauty of very ordinary things that emerge from the everyday noise & chaos. The scene where the posse visits the countryside is very bitterly beautiful in so many ways.

It's not a documentary, so I won't really go into the subject of it giving a realistic image of the early 90s England or not.

I picked it up at the video store about 10 years ago, because the title caught my eye. I was very surprised to find that the movie was very entertaining; with serious bits, but oh such funny bits too. I loved the wittiness of it. It took me a year before I was able to locate a place to purchase it. I have it in my library now and watch it every so often. I LOVE "Clint Eastwood! Justin Chadwick is perfect as Clint Eastwood.

The characters are very real, and you truly begin to feel for each one of them. Even the supporting cast gives such life to their characters. Of course Steve McIntosh is great as Muff Diver, McIntosh never disappoints with his acting.

If I'm to like a movie, I need to care about the lead characters and what happens to them. In this waste-pod of a film, I found myself hoping that they would all die in the end. None of the characters are people that you'd ever want to meet, they all made me sick. If not for a few nude scenes, I would have given this wretched movie a 1.