Period piece from 1960. Interesting for the light it throws on manners and class and the shift to multiculturalism. A couple of Caribbean prisoners, an Aussie, some proto-mafiosi and a suave American (who I see is played by Sam Wannamaker).
If this were being made today, Clive Owen or Tom Hardy would be starring and it’s doubtful whether they would improve much on Stanley Baker’s swaggering and glowering. Unfortunately, the plot is standard issue – there’s an attractive love interest, Margit Saad (exotically German), but no snappy dialogue and little tension in the scenes. The snowy field where Bannion stashes his loot must have been an influence on the Coen brothers in Fargo, so maybe that’s as much of a legacy as the film needs.
Perhaps, this was gritty for the time, but gritty is grittier these days and this kind of thing has been done to death (and better) since then.
From the same writing team who hit the big time with Sexy Beast, we have a more theatrical, darker piece. At first glance, it strikes on as something like a RESEVOIR DOGS set in London, but actually the themes, infidelity, vulnerability and forgiveness are remarkably congruent with Sexy Beast. Once again, there’s an all star cast led by Ray Winstone. John Hurt does some scene stealing Frankie Fraser schtick – a very long way from Winston Smith in 1984 or THE NAKED CIVIL SERVANT. Bravo.
Witty dialogue, good pace and an interesting enough journey for the protagonist Colin Newman (Ray Winstone) make this well worth watching.
It’s a far cry from LOCK, STOCK AND TWO SMOKING BARRELS and all the better for it.
DCI Jason Hogg
Interesting look at a murder investigation recently carried out by the Hampshire constabulary. The film focuses on how the investigating team approach the problem of identifying a victim and catching a murderer.
Some googling provide further information. Strangely, thisishampshire identifies a Detective Sergeant Richard Rowledge as the man leading the investigation. In the documentary, the Senior investigating officer is DCI Jason Hogg (shown above).
Ziaul Haque, 27, worked at the Euston Ibis hotel with 26-year-old Sylwia Sobczak of Tottenham. They were in some kind of relationship which turned sour and ended with Haque murdering Ms Sobczak. Her burnt body was found by a dog walker on a bridleway half a mile from the centre of Dummer in Hampshire on May 8.
A very sad tale from the new London – a kind of Dirty, Pretty, Things without the happy ending.
Reading the newspaper reports, it’s disappointing to note the relish with which they report that the body was found near the estate owned by the parents of Tara Palmer-Tompinkson.
Esther Rantzen writing in The Telegraph puts Tracey Connelley and Steven Barker, responsible for the death of ‘Baby P’, into an intergenerational context.
Were the social workers in Haringey aware of this? If they weren’t, will they be in the future?
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Interesting Radio 4 documentary on the Mexican Mafia, seen through the eyes of stoolie, Rene Enriquez. A middle-class kid who explains articulately how he became a hitman.
Interesting photo essay from www.sfbappa.org.
Also report on Pelican Bay from NPR.
Heard about this reading Daniel Zalewski’s piece on Roberto Bolano in the New Yorker.
Celebrity coke abuse fuels violence against women in Mexico | The Sun |News
So far this year, at least 12 women within the “favoured age” of 15-22 and with long hair have fallen victim to the cartel’s twisted gang rites.
In February, two boys playing on the desert outskirts discovered four blood-stained women’s corpses. And in March, three mutilated female bodies — including a baby — were found in a mass grave of 36 people, butchered by the cartel.
The female police chief in charge of investigating these crimes — Commander Berenice Garcia Corall — was gunned down outside her home a month ago, with 50 bullets pumped into her chest.
Excellent photo essay by Seamus Murphy (photo, right is a close up from this collection).
A nose for Nazis | Comment is free
The truth is that the Fritzl horror reveals precisely nothing about the Austrian people – but the rabid reaction to the Fritzl horror reveals a great deal about the sense of loss, confusion, desperation and chauvinism amongst opinion-formers here at home.
I wonder what Thomas Bernhard would have to say about Herr Fritzl and his neighbours? I don’t think he would be as sanguine as Brendan O’Neill – who goes too far in wanting to impose caution and restraint on his fellow hacks.
There probably are casual factors which are peculiarly Austrian – along with a great many that are not.
I thought it would be interesting to read what Anne Enright, recent winner of the Booker prize would have to say about the ‘Maddie’ phenomenon. As the writer of a dark, family tale, I thought she might have interesting things to say about it.
LRB | Anne Enright: Diary
The piece isn’t entirely without interest – her musings on the language the McCann’s have used in their dealings with the press were interesting. In particular, the thuggish looking Gerry McCann’s reliance on corporate-speak. All in all, though, it feels too much like the work of a Daily Telegraph columnist. Middle class, coddled and self referential. Like something Nigella would have written before she discovered food.
