Much is talked about Ben Kingsley's casting as thuggish gangster Don Logan that people forget the other actors with roots in crime or gangster films.
James Fox played ruthless Chas in Performance, Ian McShane appeared in Villain and Dirty Money and Ray Winstone has been playing villains of some sort since he was teenager such as films like Scum.
Winstone plays Gal a retired safe-cracker living out in Spain with his wife and other ex-con friends. However it seems he is being lured out of retirement by Logan which causes fear amongst the group and soon Logan turns up in Spain to personally request that Gal comes to London and he is not a person you say no to. There begins a cat and mouse game and you see that Logan is unhinged switching from being friendly to explosive with sudden surges of violence.
Winstone actually plays the nicest guy in the film, he just wants a quiet life with his wife and his pot of stolen loot. Kingsley, that nice Gandhi bloke strips him psychologically with threats, actual and implied, his wife's past as a porn star.
The film is strong on language, it does suffer a bit too much with it at times as every other word is peppered with it. There is dark humour although the film does not take the path of comedy cockney villains that some British gangster films like to do. It relies on performances, Winstone underplays enough to let Kingsley shine in his supporting role, a part which took many by surprise because he does not play those roles.
James Fox played ruthless Chas in Performance, Ian McShane appeared in Villain and Dirty Money and Ray Winstone has been playing villains of some sort since he was teenager such as films like Scum.
Winstone plays Gal a retired safe-cracker living out in Spain with his wife and other ex-con friends. However it seems he is being lured out of retirement by Logan which causes fear amongst the group and soon Logan turns up in Spain to personally request that Gal comes to London and he is not a person you say no to. There begins a cat and mouse game and you see that Logan is unhinged switching from being friendly to explosive with sudden surges of violence.
Winstone actually plays the nicest guy in the film, he just wants a quiet life with his wife and his pot of stolen loot. Kingsley, that nice Gandhi bloke strips him psychologically with threats, actual and implied, his wife's past as a porn star.
The film is strong on language, it does suffer a bit too much with it at times as every other word is peppered with it. There is dark humour although the film does not take the path of comedy cockney villains that some British gangster films like to do. It relies on performances, Winstone underplays enough to let Kingsley shine in his supporting role, a part which took many by surprise because he does not play those roles.