London Boulevard [Blu-ray]

Director: William Monahan William Monahan

Overview

A South London gangster emerges from three years in prison and becomes a bodyguard for a famous actress, only to be sucked back into the shady underworld by a ruthless crime lord in this gritty crime drama starring Colin Farrell. Mitchel (Farrell) served his time in Pentonville Prison. Now that he's a free man, he's determined to keep it that way. His resolve not to fall back on his criminal past is weakened, however, when his longtime friend Billy (Ben Chaplin) offers him a place to stay in exchange for help with a quick and dirty job. But just as it seems like the past won't let Mitchel go, a promising new opportunity arises; high-profile actress Charlotte (Keira Knightley) is hiding out from the paparazzi in a Holland Park mansion, and she needs a man who can help keep them at bay. Little does Charlotte realize that Billy has set his sights on her classic cars and valuable art collection, and that Mitchel is the only thing preventing him from robbing her blind. But just as Mitchel and Charlotte fall in love and make plans to move to Los Angeles, notorious mob heavy Gant (Ray Winstone) presents the cunning ex-con with an offer he can't refuse: Gant wants Mitchel in his gang, and he won't take no for an answer. Before Mitchel can flee, Gant has got him under his thumb, revealing that Mitchel will die before he ever has a chance to take flight. Upon realizing that any refusal to follow Gant's orders will endanger not only himself, but his sister Briony (Anna Friel) and Charlotte as well, Mitchel prepares to strike back with a vengeance. Consequences be damned, Mitchel will do whatever it takes to protect the ones he loves, and prove that no man owns him.

Product Details

Release Date:	02/21/2012
UPC:	0043396395602
Original Release:	2010
Rating:	R
Source:	SONY PICTURES HOME ENTERTAINMT
Language:	English
Time:	1:43:00
Sales rank:	35,390

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Keira Knightley	Charlotte
Colin Farrell	Mitchel
Ben Chaplin	Billy
Ray Winstone	Gant
Anna Friel	Briony
David Thewlis	Jordan
Eddie Marsan	D.I. Bailey
Sanjeev Bhaskar	Dr. Raju
Stephen Graham	Danny
Ophelia Lovibond	Penny
Alan Williams	Joe
Sergio Pizzorno	Composer
Jamie Campbell Bower	Actor
Velibor Topic	Actor
Lee Boardman	Actor
Jonathan Cullen	Anthony Trent
Tim Plester	Paparazzo One
Jake Abraham	Paparazzo Two
Nick Bartlett	Beaumont
Jamie Blackley	The Footballer
Gregory Foreman	Kid with Footballer

Technical Credits

William Monahan

William Monahan	Director,Screenwriter,Producer
Quentin Curtis	Producer
Tim Headington	Producer
Graham King	Producer
Redmond Morris	Executive Producer,Producer
Colin Vaines	Executive Producer,Producer
David Altenau	Special Effects
Alexandra Milchan	Producer

Editorial Reviews

Crime dramas this good don't come around very often -- or at least, they didn't until William Monahan got in the game. Having penned the script for 2006's The Departed, Monahan has followed up his success on that movie with London Boulevard, a gritty, noir-style British gangster film, which also marks his impossibly momentous directorial debut. Well, almost impossibly: The first-time director lives up to all the expectations and more of being an Oscar winner. His debut film is gripping and incisive, pointedly drawing bleak and sometimes hilarious comparisons between Hollywood and the criminal underworld -- two notoriously merciless enclaves. The story opens on Mitchel (Colin Farrell), a highly accomplished and thoroughly respected gangster who just finished a stint in prison. Finally free to strut purposefully down public sidewalks in dashing, narrow-cut suits and perfectly worn-in leather jackets, Mitchel is contemplating going straight. Luckily for him, a legit job matching his exact skill set falls into his lap: acting as the personal bodyguard for a skittish, reclusive movie star named Charlotte (Keira Knightley), whose London mansion is constantly stalked by ruthless paparazzi. But of course, Mitchell finds that it's not so easy to leave the criminal life behind. After pulling a few favors for his idiot shyster of an old buddy Billy (a greasy Ben Chaplin), he catches the attention of an imposing local mob boss named Gant (Ray Winstone), who starts courting/threatening Mitchel to work for him based on Mitchel's fear-inducing reputation and general aptitude for badassery. Simultaneously, the spark between Mitchel and Charlotte grows increasingly undeniable, and what with her being a darling of the media, he literally and figuratively begins to see her everywhere. London Boulevard may be one of the first truly extraordinary, totally inspired gangster movies to be officially classified as post-Scorsese. Plenty of mediocre up-and-coming directors have taken pages out of the Scorsese playbook, with middling or hackneyed results. But London Boulevard is so gripping and so expertly crafted, it earns every quick cut, every musical selection by the Yardbirds, every brutal, ass-kicking revenge montage. Additionally, the English bent of the film adds yet another dimension to what's already a fascinating, multilayered affair -- and not just because it's novel to hear the way British guys ironically call each other "sweetheart." The London underworld seems to play its own supporting role, giving this dark story a fascinating and peculiar backdrop. But don't go in expecting some outrageous Snatch-style crime comedy; London Boulevard's grim side is unrelenting. Which isn't to say that the movie isn't often funny; its humor is spot-on, especially in scenes with Jordan (David Thewlis), Charlotte's gay, middle-aged caretaker, who alternately sashays and unloads semiautomatic weapons. It's just that as exceedingly compelling as every moment in the movie is, it's also deeply tragic. And that's as it should be, placing London Boulevard squarely in the elite upper echelon of crime cinema.