The Criminal (1999)
Jasper Rawlins, a none-too-successful musician, finds himself chatting with a beautiful woman at his neighborhood bar. She goes home with him, direct and frank in answer to his nervousness. During the night, someone breaks into his flat and cuts her throat. He runs into the arms of the police, who dismiss his story, but release him while they search for the weapon. He investigates the crime, and over the next few days, meets a knowing pornographer, hit men, and other schemers. As dead bodies pile up wherever he goes, the police are soon looking for him with guns drawn. As he discovers secrets about a shadowy corporation, the police close in. Can he find someone to trust?
Watch Trailer
Cast
Reviews
The Worst Film Ever
Pretty Good
It is both painfully honest and laugh-out-loud funny at the same time.
This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.
Beware all the positive reviews. Reading that this film bears any resemblance to a Guy Ritchie film made me cringe."Contrived" never described a film as perfectly as it does this one.From laughable bad-cop antics, to pointless paranoid schizophrenics and finally to an brief and amateurish handling of serious political issues, "The Criminal" promises to fail to engage the mind of the sophisticated movie-watcher.That said, "The Criminal" isn't terrible. For the most part, the acting is better than average, and there certainly isn't a lack of action. However the writing and directing are marginal at best. 4 out of 10.
This film is really just something to watch when you are bored. It's by no means the worst film on the world, but it could have been so much better.There are some funny moments, and parts where you do wonder just what the hells going on. You can decide for yourself whether that is a good thing or a bad thing.I did enjoy the beginning, the way it kind of gave you a false sense of security; how it gave you the impression that the film might be something that was completely different from what it turned out to be. But it did go down hill from there on end.
"The Criminal" is a noirish Brit crime flick which tells of a man (Mackintosh) who is in the wrong place at the wrong time and finds himself as a murder suspect on the run from the police and a bunch of super secret underground heavies. A busy flick with little to offer save a bunch of running around, "The Criminal" suffers from low budgetness, a thin plot, lots of filler, and an awful ending. An okay time waster for the couch potato who can't find anything better. (+D)
The little-known and underrated Steven Mackintosh stars in this ambitious and complex British thriller which keeps you right on the edge of your seat until the end.Sadly, the end is a little bit disappointing but when you watch this endlessly twisting conspiracy story you'll soon come to realise that it is just too clever for its own good. And while that's not exactly a compliment, at least this low budget attempt at North by Northwest proves first-time writer/director Julian Simpson is not given to compromise.The story begins late at night in a Soho bar where unassuming thirtysomething musician Jasper (Mackintosh) is drinking alone until he's joined by stunning blonde, Sarah, played by Natasha Little. She seems very keen to go back to his place, crack open a bottle of vodka and spend the night doing whatever two broad-minded and drunk adults like to do. But at 2am there's a knock at the door and suddenly the pace of The Criminal picks up as Jasper gets a smack in the face and wakes up to find the blonde had been slashed to ribbons and he is the number one murder suspect.Up steps Bernard Hill as a hard-bitten copper who effs and blinds his way confidently through some fairly ropey dialogue. Unable to come up with substantive evidence, he lets Jasper back on the street (pursued by bumbling police, naturally) and our hero immediately begins to unravel the very murky story behind the murder. Be prepared to pay attention very closely from this point onwards because The Criminal is not a movie for those suffering post-MTV attention deficit disorder.Mackintosh, whose character probably seemed pretty flat on paper, is onscreen almost constantly and thankfully he's up to the job, rescuing what might otherwise be a celluloid disaster. You might not know his name, but if you've seen Lock Stock, Blue Juice or The Buddha of Suburbia, you'll know the face. There's a good role for Soldier Soldier star Holly Aird as Hill's sidekick but unwarranted top billing goes to stand-up comic Eddie Izzard, who pops up fairly unconvincingly for about ten minutes of screen time in a role that's perhaps a little too vital for someone so inexperienced. Comedy lovers should also watch out for Red Dwarf co-star Norman Lovett in a very brief cameo.Pick it apart and The Criminal doesn't hold much water. But despite its faults (of which there are a fair few) you are going to find it very hard to switch off without finding out what happens in the end.