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The Bank Job (Blu-ray)
by funzo
FILM ONLY REVIEW
I will openly admit that I am not the greatest fan of Jason Statham; I found his films very one dimensional and his acting so wooden I have an urge to varnish the screen every time he is on. So it was to my surprise, I actually enjoyed a film he starred in.
The Bank Job is an enjoyable British ... made film written by the British legends Dick Clement and Ian La Frenias, that thankfully lacks the explosions and unnecessary car chases seen all too often in heist and robbery movies made the other side of the Atlantic. There is something uniquely British about both the story and the film which warmed the cockles enough to ignore the wooden like nature of Mr Statham...which to be fair...London gangster? It's the part he was born for.
The Bank Job is the incredible true story of a bank heist that happened in London in 1971 involving a motley crew of thieves, pimps, royalty, London spivs and government officials all involved in an intricate plot to rob a bank because of the contents of a safety deposit box.
I went into this film knowing virtually nothing of the actual events that happened in real life but this in no way detracts from the film. In fact, the more you learn the events in the film are real, the more intriguing this film becomes.
Jason Statham puts in a solid performance as Terry Leather - the East London car dealer leading the bank robbers, whilst the beautiful Saffron Burrows puts in a solid shift as Martine Love. There is also a very commendable casting of David Suchet as the sex shop owner who exudes a seedy menace that makes you forget that he is Poirot!.
The story is fast paced enough to keep you in suspense and the story is told in a way that keeps your interest throughout. However, the director Donaldson does fail to resist the temptation to go a little too far in the 1970's The Sweeney/London gangster cliched script, but you would rather this than something too American or lacking realism. There are also a few scenes that look like a parody of those 'Confessions of...' films from the 70's but overall, Statham does well, the director tells an intriguing story and the cast is ably filled with a good collection of British actors and actresses that Brits will instantly recognize.
A good film telling the fascinating true story of a bank job in 1970's London.
Run Time 111 mins (slightly too long IMO)
Certificate R
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Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (Blu-ray)
by thedevilinme
Star - Phillip Seymour Hoffman
Director - Sidney Lumet
Genre - Crime
Run Time - 117 minutes
Country - USA
Rental - £1.49p per night@Blockbusters
Amazon - £6.54 to buy the Blue Ray version.
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"May you have food and raiment, ... a soft pillow for your head; may you be 40 years in heaven, before the devil knows you're dead."
At 83-years young this was the great Sidney Lumet's last film before he passed, he of Network, Dog Day Afternoon, Serpico, The Appointment, Prince of the City, The Verdict and 12 Angry Men and so on and so on....... Who wouldn't want that lot in their directing cannon! You name any acting icon and Lumet has worked with them. Even the black & white ones! It was rather fitting that his final film should feature Phillip Seymour Hoffman, one of the most interesting and versatile actors working today, that noticeable seedy allure PSH has ideal for this one.
Sid did his first film back in 1957, and seven years in television previous to that, his death at 86-years-old late enough to earn him his diamond jubilee as a director, 72 films to his name and five Oscar nominations. How on earth he didn't win an outright Oscar for that lot we will never know and, I believe, awarded an honoree one out of embarrassment for that fact by The Academy I recall. You could say the old bugger knows what he is doing when he got to his final movie, like Woody Allen, shooting most of his movies in New York, often telling intelligent, complex stories, like 'Before the Devil Knows Your Dead', going out with a bang with a twisting, violent and edgy piece of moody crime fiction here.
---Cast---
Philip Seymour Hoffman..... as Andy Hanson
Ethan Hawke.... as Hank Hanson
Albert Finney as Charles Hanson
Marisa Tomei....... as Gina Hanson
Rosemary Harris as Nanette Hanson
Brian F. O'Byrne as Bobby Lasorda
Aleksa Palladino as Chris Lasorda
Michael Shannon as Dex
Amy Ryan as Martha Hanson
Sarah Livingston as Danielle Hanson
---The Plot---
Andy Hanson (Philip Seymour Hoffman) is a finance director at a Manhattan real estate firm, embezzling money on the side, a crime about to be revealed in the annual audit, Hanson using the money to buy drugs. The plan now is to flee to Brazil, who he thinks has no extradition treaty with America, and so needs big money from somewhere else to establish himself out there.
His brother Hank (Ethan Hawke) also has money worries, his ex wife at him 24/7 over expensive school fees for their daughter and his general uselessness as an estranged father. And Hank is not only sharing his brother's cash flow problems but his wife too, Gina (Marisa Tomei) unhappy with Andy of late, bonking Hank when her husband is at work or Andy secretly taking heroine with his dealer Dex (Michael Shannon).
With the clock ticking the brothers agree to knock over a jewelers - that of their parents family firm, and on the day of the audit, big pressure. Hank agrees to it, sibling tensions quickly boiling over as they try and hold it together over such a dastardly act, Hank always mums favorite, Andy the strong man of the family and has always manipulated his little brother in return, that dynamic not great for armed robbery.
If they use a toy gun no one will get hurt and their parents fully insured and so compensated for the crime, a local hood called 'Bobby' Lasorda (Brian F. O'Byrne) hired to do the actual heist so to distant the brothers from the robbery. Bobby's job is to threaten the old lady working there enough to get the goods and Hank the get away driver. But the problem is mom has a gun and the heist goes badly wrong, Mrs Hanson in a coma, Bobby killed at the scene.
The tension then cranks up a few notches as the audit gets underway, dad at mums bedside and suspicious of the robbery, the police also on their tail. But Hank is crumbling under the pressure as Andy franticly tries to hold all together to board that flight, like he always has. But who will crack first?
---The Result---
For a great directors final film it's not bad although I didn't get as carried away as the critics did, who absolutely loved it for one last Lumet film noir experience, bringing back the seventies where he cut his teeth in the genre. Through now familiar non linear plotline and flashback sequence, and some wobbly camera, it keeps you involved as the twists unwind and the stupidity of their plot is gently mocked by all. You kind of know where the film is going but Hoffman and Hawke are good fun and seem to go with that out of reverence for Lumet and not just here for the paycheque.
Its reasonably tort as the momentum builds to the raid and the aftermath as the world closes in around the uncouth brothers, Hoffman acting the chops off Hawk. But I don't think it's anything special and no real surprises and relish to be had as you find it hard to sympathize with any of the characters, each as despicable as the other, which to me makes it hard to like a movie. They say most kids end up wanting their parents dead so they can live a guilt free life and that's all you can really get out of this. You want someone to pull you through the film to feel its rhythms blow over your face like a summer breeze, not despise all concerned. It is one of those movies.
It cost $18m to make and has done $25m back and so a bit of flop if the truth be told. You just don't see and feel the quality the critics are banging on about and end up with a movie made by an old man. But I have no right to fault a guy who made so many cool New York movies and clearly playing safe by drawing on older movies here he has made and so I will give this one the benefit of the doubt. It's ok but nothing more and rescued for me by Marisa Tomei taking all her clothes off, the most incredible body at 46. If it had been made by a lesser director then it would have been a TV movie territory and the critics would not have gushed about it.
---Blue Ray---
They only had the Blue Ray at Blockbusters and I would normally only rent certain films in that format but I had heard only good things about this so why not. There are no additional treats with the Blue Ray other than richer color although Lumet always lights his films well and enjoys late evening sunshine to set many of his scenes and that looks great on Blue Ray. The sound is always superior on this format for any movie and you also have the different aspect ratios. You will find with normal DVD that you are stuck with the oblong screen. There are no additional extras with the disc.
----------Ratings----------
Imdb.com - 7.3/10.0 (56,699 votes)
Metacritc.com - 84% critics approval rating
Rottentomatos.com - 88% critics approval rating
Radio Times Film Year Book - 4/5
Leonardo Maltin Film Year Book - 2.5/4.0
----------Critics---------
Film 4 - 'A crime melodrama that takes risks with characterization and narrative structure, but ends up as awkward, indulgent and hard to like as its main protagonists'.
Empire Magazine -'Bleak, brutal and quite possibly brilliant, this is a triumphant return to form for Lumet and further proof that Hoffman is on an incredible winning streak'.
Boston Phoenix -'No matter how irredeemable and pathetic the behavior of their characters might be, Hoffman and Hawke evoke a squirming recognition and empathy'.
The Guardian -' Sometimes it feels like too much, but then again, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead is an exercise in piling it on, with each plot twist all but guaranteeing the absolute damnation of its struggling characters'.
The Film Times -' My biggest problem with this movie is that underneath all the style and film tricks, I really didn't like or care what happened to any of these characters'.
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