Synopsis: After serving jail time for a mysterious crime, Bill and Karl are released and seek to find out who turned them in while their “family business” begins to fall apart.
Release Date: October 15, 2010 MPAA Rating: PG-13
Genre(s): Comedy,
Film Review
Production
Being confined to one house for nearly the entire film there is no choice than to feel suffocated just like the characters. Karl (Robin Hill) and Bill (Robert Hill) have recently been released from going to prison and are now concerned with discovering who set them up. As their paranoia and uncertainty rises yours does also as every question you have about what the family business is exactly, who is honest and who is deceitful, as well as why they are living scared, is never fully answered. You are forced to make conjectures, piece together answers, and hope that what your mind decides is going on is actually correct. Here we find the downfall of Down Terrace. It is trying very hard to be unique and subjective in so it forgets to give the viewer what they need, valid information. The few answers it provides only add confusion. The build up of a mystery succeeds from the very beginning because everything the family has done, or is doing, is never mentioned directly. They are obviously not honest citizens – murder and violence are quite frequent, as well as threats. Even the main players, or who has the most power, is not ever revealed; giving a nice twist to the patriarchal structure of most gangster genre films. Essentially this is a gangster movie tied up in a dark comedy and then wrapped around a mystery.
As the dry humor permeates the screen and everyone dives further into panic you are left without much substance. The B storyline concerning Karl and his pregnant girlfriend adds some much needed dimension after all of the he said/she said jabbering within the family. It is also the only time we see Karl attempt to change and become his own man who will not be ruled by the family or influenced by his father. The movie reaches its peak around halfway through and then flatlines until the final climactic scenes where it does something highly typical to gather shock and awe from the viewer but not unique. Thus ruining the entire experiment in non-conventional cinematic storytelling. You walk away still questioning much and feeling a tad cheated at how the ending became generic.
This film was screened during the 2010 Los Angeles Film Festival.
Cast and Crew
- Director(s): Ben Wheatley
- Producer(s): Robin HillBen Wheatley
- Screenwriter(s): Robin Hill (Karl)Robert Hill (Bill)Julia Deakin (Maggie))
- Story: David Schaal (Uncle Eric)
- Cast: Kerry Peacock (Valda)Tony Way (Garvey)Mark Kempner (Councillor Berman) Robin HillBen WheatleyLaurie Rose
- Editor(s):
- Cinematographer: Jim Williams
- Production Designer(s):
- Costume Designer:
- Casting Director(s):
- Music Score:
- Music Performed By:
- Country Of Origin: UK