Film opens with a family scene but quickly moves into the action, with a gang-leader, played by Terence Howard, under attack from an unknown enemy. A campaign is being waged against him and spotting a clue he goes to confront a rival gang-leader. Violence ensues, but with no back-story, there is nobody to get emotionally attached to, as these gangsters shoot it out. Actors Colin Farrell and Dominic Cooper play members of Howard's gang, and after this long violent intro, we get credits as we follow Farrell home.
Outside of his gang activities, Colin Farrell's character seems to lead a fairly lonely life (think Leon), but he comes into contact with a neighbour across the way. She is played by Noomi Rapache and seems fragile and needy. Farrell by contrast seems colder and moody. Farrell played the moodiest guy in history as Alexander (the Great), and here too, we are uncertain of where his mood swings will lead, right from the first scene, onwards.
F. Murray Abraham has a few small scenes and Armand Assante does one short scene, however they, and Terence Howard, as well as the other gangsters, do not get a lot of character development. Quite right too, because all this gang stuff is really the background to the central story of the relationship between Farrell and Rapache.
The story is set in New York, not that you would know that from the location shots, this could have been filmed anywhere, however it did have some interesting bleak, if slightly unbelievable, location shooting.
Colin Farrell acted his part well; after his cold, unpredictable start, we gradually learnt more of his character, so perhaps did he. Dominic Cooper, playing a fellow gang member, gave a standout performance, with real depth, to a believable character. The best of all though was the power-house performance of Noomi Rapache. Utterly believable and real, real, depth. She is the real star of this film.
It has to be said that this film is a bit clichéd, derivative and predictable, and has a somewhat improbable and unlikely plot. Having said that, I was not expecting much when I went to see this film and so I was not let down by it. As a crime thriller, it is a good film. 7/10.
Outside of his gang activities, Colin Farrell's character seems to lead a fairly lonely life (think Leon), but he comes into contact with a neighbour across the way. She is played by Noomi Rapache and seems fragile and needy. Farrell by contrast seems colder and moody. Farrell played the moodiest guy in history as Alexander (the Great), and here too, we are uncertain of where his mood swings will lead, right from the first scene, onwards.
F. Murray Abraham has a few small scenes and Armand Assante does one short scene, however they, and Terence Howard, as well as the other gangsters, do not get a lot of character development. Quite right too, because all this gang stuff is really the background to the central story of the relationship between Farrell and Rapache.
The story is set in New York, not that you would know that from the location shots, this could have been filmed anywhere, however it did have some interesting bleak, if slightly unbelievable, location shooting.
Colin Farrell acted his part well; after his cold, unpredictable start, we gradually learnt more of his character, so perhaps did he. Dominic Cooper, playing a fellow gang member, gave a standout performance, with real depth, to a believable character. The best of all though was the power-house performance of Noomi Rapache. Utterly believable and real, real, depth. She is the real star of this film.
It has to be said that this film is a bit clichéd, derivative and predictable, and has a somewhat improbable and unlikely plot. Having said that, I was not expecting much when I went to see this film and so I was not let down by it. As a crime thriller, it is a good film. 7/10.