Director: Jonathan Glazer
Year Released: 2000
Rating: 1.0
Yes, it is yet another variation on the "one last job" scenario present in a gaggle of other (better) gangster/mobster/Mafia movies with a few postmodern twists and little to care about. Ray Winstone (playing meek-little-lamb this time, as opposed to his usual roles as pedophiles and/or alcoholics) is trying to retire from the mob business; a stoic, "fearsome" Ben Kingsley (who not only has a wardrobe out of the 70s but doesn't even carry a firearm or any other weapon of destruction) refuses to accept that as an answer. The two bicker back and forth for what feels like an eternity, taking up a good part of the movie (Winstone says no, Kingsley says yes, Winstone says please, no, Kingsley punches him, says yes) that when it does get to the "one last job" in question - which is dealt with in a choppy, insignificant manner - it's already lost you. Numerous side bits show up and work to varying degrees - the killer bunny simply has to go (Glazer must have been studying The Cell before shooting this), the boulder is a great opening diversion - but I never really felt it was more than an exercise in the 'where-do-I-put-the-camera-this-time' aesthetic. Many people have praised Kingsley's performance, but since I couldn't make out what he was mumbling half-the-time (his dialogue includes two words: "fuckin'" or "cunt"), I can't say I agree. The airport scene, however, is a minor classic.
