Freight

As a fan of British movies and gangster films in particular I had looked forward to seeing this and was not disappointed. Good story which is help together by decent acting and well defined characters. Great action, well directed and a film to enjoy over and over. Some films in a similar genre try too hard to thrill and excite. Freight simply builds and holds the attention. For me this has the feel of a good old fashioned British film in so much that you care about what happens next, not often the case in many of the huge big budget Hollywood epics. We have all seen films where you are willing the end to draw to a close. With Freight you want to see more and that's the mark of a great film. No hesitation in giving this 10 out of 10!

This is a facts and figures review of FREIGHT, rather than an opinion based review, and it will hopefully lead the reader to be able to judge whether it is a film they wish to see. DESCRIPTION: themed on sex trafficking, human trafficking, it inevitably relates to gang crime and has violence and action. It is a pacey movie that follows two families, one UK and one from Moldavia who are effected by trafficking. The film has a strong female story/interest so is not just a boys action film. Similar to Taken in some ways. CERTIFICATION: the producers wanted and felt in could be a 15 but the BBFC gave it an 18, it was sent back and reviewed by senior inspectors who sympathised but upheld the 18, not on the level of violence but 'the overall tone' of the film and it's harsh depiction of the sex trade. The BBFC notes can be seen on their site, but they obviously felt the treatment of sex trafficking was more disturbing than Eastern Promises, which they gave a 15 and more in line with Taken that was given an 18. There is no use of the 'c' word, and just over 60 uses of the 'f' word. There is almost no nudity and no enforced sex scenes as in Eastern Promises. ORIGIN AND STORY BASE: The script was anchored on a Moldavian plight after the writer saw Michael Pailin's New Europe when he was shown, by a UNISEF officer, the huge trafficking problem in the poorest country in Europe. youtube.com/watch?v=fEMRmqkZ1Hw It uses a collection of stories about Eastern European crime in the UK, highlighted by the recent high profile case of the Romanian father and son prosecuted for sex trafficking in the UK. It is set in northern England, mentions Leeds, but could be anywhere. DVD and EXTRAS: If the copy you are offered does not have the ICON logo on the front it is likely a pirate of a very early test edit. The real DVD has the ICON logo and is the version seen in the cinema. The real version also has 112 minutes of interviews including the Eastern European actresses who have first hand knowledge of sex trafficking and behind the scenes footage and films which differ from the many films on the Youtube.com/freight2010 TV channel, which in itself gives enough background and footage to show the film you will see. INDUSTRY ACLAIM AWARDS: Action films do not normally win awards so it was only entered into 3 festivals in the USA to develop a market there as it has no US stars. Surprisingly it won Best Director and Best Actor at the prestigious Breckenridge Film Festival, the Silver Palm Award at the Mexican International Film Festival with a special note on its 'excellence in film making'. It was also nominated (last 5 in category) for Best Special Effects (Graham Aikman) and Best Foreign Film (non US film) at the AOF in Los Angeles. CAST: With no real movie stars, Billy Murray, Craig Fairbrass and Laura Aikman are the best known. But all the others are known for TV shows somewhere. The films web site is full of information and pictures and links freight2010.co.uk If you want to see footage and clips youtube.com/freight2010 will give you ample opportunity. The official press site is handled by noble PR on noblepr.co.uk/Press_Releases/icon/freight.htm CONCLUSION: there is enough material around to assess the film well and it does do what is says on the tin. If you like action films you will like it, if you like human stores it will have enough depth but be disturbing, it is not an easy subject matter… but see the directors other film Devil's Gate and you will see he hits topics head on. If you are Russian or Romanian, you might be a little offended, but it is not about all Eastern Europeans, just the criminals and it shows good and bad in all. If you use the sex trade or work in it, you definitely won't appreciate this film.

I caught this in Cannes and was thoroughly impressed as the UK has been crying out for a good, character-based action film for ages. The set-pieces in the film (some brutal cage fights and other action scenes) are really well structured, but more importantly they all have a sense of character. You really care about the characters involved and their motivations dictate the actions they take. Also the action is refreshingly realistic and crisply shot and edited, unlike a lot of other films these days.

I won't mention any spoilers but the performances here are very good, especially Billy Murray as Gabe, and Danny Midwinter who gives a genuinely terrifying performance as the main villain Christi. Craig Fairbrass lends solid support but his character is the only one that feels slightly under-written, unless perhaps some of his character's scenes were deleted? Christi's main henchman (Andrew Tiernan I think) and the main cage fighter character were both splendid as well.

The ending of the film is a bit ambiguous but this only adds to the reality of the situation portrayed.

I would recommend Freight to fans of action drama, and for fans of cracking, old-school British cinema. You won't be disappointed.

Freight delivers a reasonable story, decent acting and a fair message. While it's not top budget, it's well paced with sufficient action to keep you going. The story has appeal without being overly sentimental. If you appreciate indie film, moderate transgression, and a few punch-ups - this little flick delivers.

The bad guys are also well done. Danny Midwinter - as the lead nasty, does an excellent job of being nefarious. His sneer and wonderfully grotesque laugh captures the sinister Eastern European Mafia persona quite nicely.

It won't hurt you to give this a try.

I hesitate to add lots negatives here but, poorly scripted, all characters were not established, so was left wondering till later in the movie who was who. Mediocre acting all the way, but good special effects and quite good fight scenes. The political points well rammed home (probably unintentional) but all I wanted to watch was a darned good gangster flick. Didn't get it. If you want a good flick try London Boulevard, not this one. Not authentic and OTT. Met Matt Kennard (Sonny) several months back, who worked hard to get in shape, and he is a fitty (no acting there), came across at the time as a really nice chappie, but this is not his best effort and know he can do better given a classy script, plus acting alongside widescreen experienced actors. Another involvement with a flop like this and it will run a mega risk for him of tarnishing future career prospects. In a nutshell finally, loose ends galore, and 'mucho' disappointed. Still waiting on a gangster flick classic sometime ; maybe their days have come & gone.