Untitled Document

Before I saw it, this had one huge thing in its favour. It's about an issue (the resettlement of asylum seekers and refugees in British communities) very dear to my heart and very topical. It also had one thing against it. It's British. The terrible unimaginative state (generally) of British cinema, which churns insipid, mirror-image, gansgter flick after insipid, mirror-image, gangster flick, does not inspire confidence, but I went into this with an open mind. I wasn't disappointed.

Whilst it doesn't quite touch the levels of the best British film for ages, Bullet Boy (which is not a gangster flick in the mould of Lock Stock, Layer Cake, Essex Boys etc etc., it has far, far, more to it, like Sexy Beast), this is highly watchable, entertaining, fare and I'd certainly recommend it. I wonder if it'll make my list for this year (it would currently be second or third)?

Sure, some of the acting is dodgy to say the least, but this is a hot issue it's important to address and some of the misconceptions of asylum seekers in Britain are offset by this film. And, the excellent performance by Benedict Wong, as the lead character, together with his two children, somewhat offsets the otherwise questionable performances. There are also some very funny, laugh-out-loud, moments which neatly offset the tragedy and difficulty of some of the stories and it's nicely photgraphed by David Luther. Interesting characters, an interesting, well put together story and backstory, and a lively pace add up to a highly watchable film. And it's also interesting - and important - who you end up rooting for!