Genres

Visitors Review

morag linekar 2012-05-18 07:56:03

An exciting film treat

I had to search the internet to find a cinema where it was showing(ithas not been widely promoted)but I was glad that I did find it.the filmbrought out a wide range of emotions in me it was in placestender,dramatic,exciting and midway through the film there is a shock Icertainly didn't see coming.The acting was top class. Dominic Monaghanwas totally believable as a cockney dope head and even brought a littlecomic relief to a film dealing with some very serious issues:ken stottgave a great performance too,the parts of the two children caught up inthe drama are convincingly played and I found nothing at all tocomplain about in Spivs:it is well worth watching and I look forward toseeing it again

markdawnay 2012-05-17 12:16:22

The Best Truly British Flick In Years

One of the best movies that i have seen in years, a true and grittydepiction of London life, with a comedic strain that can only bedescribed as classic British humour. Spivs is a also a touchingheartfelt story about the horror that is the modern day slave trade. Atruly strong and great piece of cinema I can't recommend it enough.Onwards and upwards for the British Film Industry. Support the British Film Industry on Friday the 24th September whenSPIVS is released. A film born and breed in Britain. A true depiction of British lifetoday, this witty yet gritty comedy-drama stars: Ken Stott (KingArthur,) Nick Moran (Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels,) KateAshfield, (Shaun of the Dead,) Dominic Monaghan (The Lord of the RingsTrilogy,) Jack Dee and Paul Kaye SPIVS Cert 15 Running time 91 Minutes. Carnaby Films are a totally unique company, funded by the Britishpeople, for the British people.

xan_pl 2012-05-16 00:35:46

absolutely shocking...

What a flop. this film had promises of a "Snatch" lookalike. what amisleading cast too! a film with Paul Kaye and Jack Dee should beCOMEDIC, not a load of fake drama. i thought the violence was supposedto be funny until it hit me, this movie is supposed to be serious. ifound this film pretentious, and it was obvious that it had no heartwhatsoever. further more, i was asking myself why anyone would cast alead actor (Ken Stott) that annoys you so much you wanna rip your hairout. his voice alone is enough to infuriate the most patient of people,not to mention his "array" of witty remarks. i found that i reallyTRIED to like this film, even though i just couldn't. i think nickmoran and dom monaghan are great actors, however, this film was a badcareer move for them both. a POOR effort...really disappointed...

Paul Thompson 2012-05-15 19:30:33

Thought provoking, good plot.

Spivs has a believable, clever but not over complicated plot. As thefilm starts with the stereotypical spiv characters we seem in store fora light hearted conmen comedy, an attempt at 'The Sting' maybe. But thefilm becomes gradually darker and nothing you thought you could predictoccurs. The desperation and anguish that overcomes the main characteris brilliantly portrayed by Ken Stott, as we are transferred from thefeel of 'Shooting Fish' to 'Mona Lisa'. All performances are good withStott stealing the show but the mafia boss wasn't menacing enough andseemed slightly out of place, while his main henchman was veryfrightening. The direction was generally OK with some genuinelygripping scenes but some overused flashy camera-work did lose the filmsome momentum in places. Overall, I enjoyed the film.

SlackerUK 2012-05-08 01:16:28

Heartwarming, but slow

SPOILER FREEIn all honesty the only reason I bothered to watch this was for DomMonaghan (who wasn't in it enough IMO).The film had solid performances by all actors, with some impressivecameos (Jack Dee for instance),but was rather slow paced. The story wassurprisingly heartwarming with a 'feel good' ending.I imagine this film is going to find it hard to find a real audience -the violence of some scenes didn't work well with some of the softerthemes. This was evidenced by the fact there were only 4 people at ourshowing (including myself).I've given it 6 out of ten due to the pace and slightly clichéd script.The actors did their very best with a badly paced script.

dee-hammond 2012-05-07 23:44:00

decent

well first of all i want to say that the featurette on the DVD isbetter than the actual film, which is why i gave it a seven. i onlywatched this movie because i knew dominic monaghan was in it, i thinkthey underused his character though. i thought it was a good plot andnothing at all what i expected it to be. its quite a sad movie and domscharacters only purpose, apart from 1 line, is only there to lightenthe mood. it was very...British. lots of grey, if you know what i mean.but still a good bit of British film. they had a very low budget andmany investors were actually given places in it as extras. so with nomoney and limited resources i think they did a pretty good job. byeX

Wendy House 2012-05-07 01:49:35

Good mix of Brit gangster and social conscience film excelling at neither

A London based film, Spiv has the mood of a classic London basedGangster, or wide-boy, films such as 'The long good Friday', LayerCake, Lock Stock and two smoking barrels. It tackles fundamental,international, human rights issues. There is a reasonable review postedon "Eye for film'. The review doesn't adequately acknowledge thedisturbing topic matter of the film: humans, children as a commodityfor trade in Western captialistic culture. Life and sex as somethingthat has monetary, tradeable value.Beautiful lighting and attention to photographics details. For example,during the opening credits we see the Spiv dressing. Smart 3-piecesuit, classic style with the last button of the waistcoat undone.Inbetween the calm attention of his dressing we see and hear loudscenes from racecourse. We swiftly move to the spinning a yarn. Wewatch the Spiv talk in one screen frame while simultaneously viewingthe story he is recounting in an inset. This technique of multipleframes is used sparingly, to good effect. The ending is clever andleaves enough to to feed your imagination. It's more of a turning pointin a story than a 'wrap up all major themes' ending.For Anglophiles there are some excellent scenes of London, Docklands,Victorian red-brick terraced streets, slummy high-rise flats, grayskies, the London underground. Jack Dee plays a significant bit part asa builder called 'Nige' with impressively powerful perception andsublety. Summary? This is half way between a well constructed art filmand a socially conscious film. It doesn't hit the heights of either, itdoes meld the experiences well. It is worth watching if either genremoves you.

Ali_Catterall 2012-05-06 18:40:28

Tough yet warm-hearted Britcrime offering

Gentleman Jack (Stott), his edgy right-hander Steve (Moran), sexyself-styled moll Jenny (Ashfield) and stoner Goat (Monaghan) pullelaborate cons on wannabe villains, buoyed by the motto: "You can'tcheat an honest man". Victims include O'Brien, played by Kaye as alisping ne'er-do-well with a silly haircut and a penchant for cashmachine fraud, and nice-but-dim Nigel (Dee), owner of an ailing haulagecompany.But Jack and Co. find themselves in deep water after they attempt tosteal the latter's office equipment and drive it away in a 'borrowed'lorry which turns out to be full of Albanian human traffic. When theimmigrants scarper, a little brother and sister are left behind.Grudgingly, Jack becomes their unofficial guardian - but is closelytrailed by some murderous parties, while Steve and Jenny, intent onclosing that mythical long con, walk headlong into harm.Spivs initially hoodwinks audiences into assuming it's something thatit's not, featuring the usual checklist of East End settings, shadycharacters and slang ("What do you think I am, some kind ofmeat-puppet?") which must be included by law in all contemporaryBritish crime flicks.However, it soon reveals itself to be both a textured character-studyof a drowning middle-aged man yearning for redemption, and a harrowingexpose of the illegal immigrant / underage sex slave trade.That the slapstick and tragic elements mostly hang together bearstestament to a well-plotted, well-researched script (occasionallysentimental, though never mawkish), along with an immensely touchingcentral performance by Stott. It's rare and refreshing in these kindsof films to find a late fortysomething taking precedence over two younghipsters like Moran and Ashfield. Fine support too from Bassett asJack's tough-talking sister Vee.A modern Brit crime movie sporting substance over style? It must be acon!

jellybeans-2 2012-05-03 17:15:36

spivs going to hit high

A thoroughly well produced film with Lead star KEN STOTT stealing theshow! The touchy subject of human trafficking is handled with humourand respect. The film is a comedy with a definite black edge.The scriptis tight and the film well paced. The supporting cast are excellentwell experienced actors whose characters make the plot believable andthought provoking. Look for big screen new-comer Jack Dee. He is agreat surprise and it would have been great to have given him astronger role. This film is the one to look out for and could becomethe next East is East. Good to see The British Film Industry have stillgot it. Who needs over inflated American Budgets if we can produceclassics like this. More Spivs please.

rowmorg 2012-05-03 05:36:56

Truly terrible, a total waste of time

This film breaks Rule One: the audience MUST care about the characters.Nobody introduces us to the puppets, we don't know who they are, whatmakes them tick, where they're coming from, where they want to go,NOTHING. The director simply throws them into action and expects us toworry about what happens next and to be bothered enough to listen totheir very badly spoken lines. (Each line in a picture like this costson average about UKP2,000, so every time one of these second-raterstosses off a line we can't quite catch they are burning 20 big ones forthe producer. Nice going, fellas!) The producer of this half-bakedturkey should be talking to one of the decent script development shopsin London next time. They'll run him through the ABC of movies and howto make them work. Then, at least he won't make another stinker to addto the incredibly long list of indescribable stinkers the UK so-called"movie industry" has turned out over the last few years. Don't wastefive minutes of your life viewing this badly conceived, poorly executedeffort at entertainment. Read a book instead.

2012-05-01 08:50:50

whacky; dark, and good

A whacky kinda of British movie, with con-men you'll like and some that are very dark. Plot twist... I didn't see it coming... but good. The story is good. Blackmarket smuggling of people/ the slave trade; unexpected rising to the occasion and an ending that will make you say, " alright then". There for the grace of god go I. I enjoyed this movie.

kurtj-1 2012-04-30 17:32:01

I like it !

What a positiv surprise this was !Another brit-film with humor, depth and action !Ken Stott is brilliant and the younger crew is not bad either!Paul Kaye has a smaller part but is very good !Jack Dee's first apperance on the big screen...and not last, Iamsure. He could probably been used more in this film ?Normally I am not to keen on "children plots " but this waswellbalanced and the kids was good, not overacting as is socommon.Nick Moran is well established in brittish gansterfilms andthisis another strong performance. Kate Ashfield is "foxy" andhelpsthe overall strengths of the film. Linda Bassett as AuntieVeeis very solid.Overall : very good !!!

marysia 2012-04-29 06:11:29

Psychological drama with too little insight

This wasn't at all what I expected. I was expecting something along thelines of Snatch and instead got a reasonably thoughtful story about amiddle aged man realising he has wasted the majority of his life oncheap con tricks. I went to see this for Dominic Monaghan and let's be honest, Dom isbarely in this and his character is, though entertaining and sweet,largely irrelevant to the film. In fact one of his scenes is soirrelevant you suspect it of having been inserted merely to up hisscreen time.I didn't actually enjoy the film all that much, not because it was badbut I think because I could find no handle with which to identify withthe three main characters. They lived lives I would never live,behaving in ways I would never consider, and the lead character (KenStott) more so than the others. There were a few moments when you feltemotion for him, but for me the whole thing was just too far from mysphere of experience. I am not a con man, I could never be a con manand have no desire to be one. I don't understand the mindset. Dom'scharacter is actually easier to empathise with, for me anyway, and notjust cause I can feel some sort of connection for any character playedby Dom cause the connection already exists. He's a simple minded ladwho doesn't think much about what he's doing, he drifts through hislife in a cloud of cannabis smoke and that's enough for him, he's thepettiest of criminals, not out to hurt anyone in particular and notlooking for the big time. He comes across as a sweet if slightlydeluded guy, not the best influence in the world but not the worsteither. He does add a nice lightness and goofiness to scenes that mighthave been a bit heavy otherwise. I would have liked to see more of himbut there wasn't room for him in this script which settled down into apsychological drama with gangster side salad.The film was good, but not great. It lacked connection and I can't takeall the blame for that, a truly great film can make you connect withit's characters no matter how far they stray from yourself. Perhaps itwas too tight lipped, you could never quite see deep enough into thecharacters to touch what was implied.

easter11 2012-04-28 17:21:51

Sweet film that's not going to rock the world

This film is suffering a bit of an identity crisis - is it a comedy, adrama or what? There are good performances from Kate Ashfield and someof the best moments in the film are the ones with Ken Stott, his aunt(Linda Bassett) and the children - these are tender moments that arewell captured. Jack Dee's character is weak and badly portrayed. Thereare some fun moments but overall this film doesn't gel well. Go and seethis film to support British movie making, its a sweet film thatportrays the wheeler dealers of east London and had it had a few morebucks in the budget, could have been tightened up somewhat to produce agem perhaps.