Customer Reviews

Essex Boys

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Essex Boys is a 1999 "gangster" film that takes the viewer into the gritty, dangerous domain of Essex's drug-dealing underworld. The story is narrated in part by a lad named Billy, a lowly (but fairly quick-witted) driver for the self-important kingpins, and though we don't see everything from Billy's vantage point, it is an effective and engaging means of presenting the story. Though the characters and the story are pure fiction, the inspiration for the film came from the murder of three suspected drug dealers whose bodies were found in a Range Rover in Essex in 1995. The story created around this real-life event is highly imaginative, plausible, gripping, and suspenseful.

Sean Bean (Sharpe, Extremely Dangerous, Bravo Two Zero, The Fifteen Streets, Golden Eye), donning a cockney-flavoured Essex accent, is simply superb as the jealous, arrogant, mean-spirited, foul-mouthed Jason Locke, a drug-dealing thug who's just been released from prison (and who thinks he's God's gift to women). He's one of those chaps, the girth of whose vocabulary is such that he'd easily be rendered speechless were he required to utter so much as one sentence without lacing it liberally with the "F" word. There is not much at all to like about Locke. He treats women like dirt and has little more respect for his colleagues.

Those used to seeing Bean as an action hero will no doubt enjoy (if that is the right word!) seeing him in such a nasty role. He is known for really internalizing his roles and becoming the character he's portraying; indeed, it's almost disturbing to see him here, for he simply exudes foulness.

The film co-stars Alex Kingston (Moll Flanders) as Locke's feisty, shrewd, ambitious wife, Lisa. Kingston is a very capable actress who is well-paired with Bean in this film. Another familiar face is Tom Wilkinson (The Full Monty), who is wonderful as drug middle-man John Dyke.

This is a gritty, violent film that doesn't hold back any punches in its depiction of the drug underworld. It's a good story with a very satisfying ending. It's a first-rate production and is consumately acted by all involved. Recommended to fans of the "gangster" film genre and to fans of Sean Bean.

After the flash and fire of Lock, Stock..., there were a whole spate of Brit crime flicks (including its empty-headed sequel Snatch). It's a credit to the genre (or sub-genre) that Essex Boys is one of the better entries.

That can be attributed to a very intelligent script, terrific acting (since when have British actors failed to deliver the goods?), and fast-paced directing--all of which speak of a keen understanding of exactly how to craft a thriller that moves the way it should.

Sean Bean is outstanding here as Jason, an ugly-minded thug who's just been let out of the pen. He finds his old mates, after settling a score in an especially violent scene, and together they set about raking in the pounds, primarily from drug dealing. What they don't count on is Jason's wife Lisa who's the toughest and smartest of all. Her plots and counterplots land her squarely in the femme fatale arena and it's a lot of fun to watch Alex Kingston, the actress who portrays her, strut her stuff.

Also on hand are Billy Wiz, the naive driver who's conscripted into service for Jason, Lisa, and Billy's ex-mentor Mr. D., in an especially riveting performance by Tom Wilkinson, who did a great job in the film In the Bedroom.

The ending is very far off from what anyone would expect; the plotting here shows off, as mentioned, just how smart the filmmakers--writer and director both--really are.

A great addition to your crime flick set of films, Essex Boys bites, punches, stings, and packs a wallop. Grab it.

I don't feel the need to spell out the plot of the film, since you probably already know it if you're reading this, so I'll keep this short. If you're American and not used to watching British films you may have to watch it a couple times or try it with subtitles to catch everything, but the movie itself is still wonderful. Sean Bean is (as usual) the bad guy, and he plays it beautifully. If you're a fan of his or just into action-packed gangster flicks, I highly recommend Essex Boys.

Watching this movie, it's hard to remember that Sean Bean is an actor and not a vicious criminal. This is an extremely uncomfortable movie to see, but it's awesome.

There is nothing attractive about a life of crime as portrayed in this film, and that is one of its strongest suites. Based on actual events, it's a study of criminal existence at its most bleak---and hats off to the filmmakers and the cast for the pristine starkness of it all. There's certainly nothing romantic or cool about these people who respect no one and nothing.
I viewed it because I like the actors and was curious to see what they'd do with material like this. Sean Bean has villainy down to a fine art---but note that his villains aren't charming or any kind of ad for youth to plug into. We don't want to identify with his bad guys, we just want them to get their just deserts. (Bean is all the more a treat when he has an heroic role to sink his teeth into like Sharpe, Neil Byrne, or Boromir---even his heroes are flawed, which says something about the roles he chooses---but he is always intriguingly watchable.) Alex Kingston, Tom Wilkinson, and Charlie Creed-Meyers are all uncomfortably fine in their respective roles of abused wife, partner in crime, and hapless wheel-man.
Others have termed this drama "gritty" and that is is, but I think it goes even farther---it is a cautionary tale.

This film provides a very good look into the underworld of British crime - perhaps too good.

The premise is fairly simple: Jason Locke (played brilliantly by Sean Bean) is a gangster who's just got out of prison, and is mad. He gets more upset when he finds out his 'kingdom' of drugs and crime has been usurped by others during his absence, and vows to get his own back. The violence, mayhem, and double- and triple-crossing that ensues is no doubt quite accurate, but a bit too much for my sensibilities.

This film no doubt does a great job of portraying its subject matter, and even has its sympathetic moments, but I find it lacks the ability to make an emotional connection with the viewer. I have to admit, though I very much enjoy Sean Bean's acting, I was glad to see this grim, gloomy film over.

More violence than I normally like to watch, got the video because it had Sean Bean and was quite surprised by it. It takes considerable acting skill to be as good-looking as he is and make you not notice it. If I'd never seen the Sharpe series or anything else except Essex Boys and someone asked me to describe Bean, I would have said "tall, blond and ugly as homemade sin" because somehow, all you see is the dark, misshapen soul of the sick character he plays.
The acting and photography are all good, although the accents were too thick for my American ears, had to use sub-titles. The story was too sad and too violent for my taste, felt depressed as much as entertained. But if you like the genre, this is a well-made and engrossing film.

What is wrong (right?) with Sean Bean, equally mesmerizing, whether playing a sensuous lover, or a sadistic bastard?! In this film, he is the latter...He is so bad in fact, that throwing acid in a man's face is no more to him then a chauffeur driven work appointment... The tale, part of which we learn from the chaffeur's narrative, is brutal and full of unexpected twists, for the Essex mafia are not the "shoot'em up" kind...They are the "kill-them-each-and-any-way-and-dance-on-their-graves-while-making-a-lot-of-dosh" kind...Throw in a woman scorned, but deadly patient and ambitious, and you have a story that will make you appreciate there is an ocean between you and Essex...

Superbly written, acted and directed, this gem of a gangster movie requires subtitles to be fully comprehended on its first viewing (the accents are very heavy). They are there, use them, and enjoy!

Alex Kingston stars in this gritty, dirty British gangster flick about an underworld with no rules. Sean Bean stars as Jason Locke, a gangster released from prison after a five year stint in the slammer for possesion of illegal substances. The main character, Billy ( Kingston) is an ex-cab driver in an English city when he is suddenly hired to drive Locke around after being released from prison. Eventually he becomes integrated into the gang, and witnesses several brtual murders when Jason begins to take revenge on his former cohorts whom he beleives took advantage of him while he was in prison. Billy goes along for the ride. Soon he joins the gang and is set up with a big pay check, and everything is great until Jason's girl begins to get in on the action. All in all, an interesting film with a very spairing story line, but it isn't really needed. Occasionally the thick British accents of all the actors can be hard to decipher, especially to an American audience, but what lacks in dialogue it makes up for in action. The film is brutally violent, sometimes for almost no apparent reason, but all it does is reaffirm the bloody, gory modern British underworld.

Essex Boys,for me at least,ranks with 'The Long Good Friday' and 'Get Carter' as one of the toughest and best gangster films to have been made in some time.Joe Pesce in 'GoodFellas' has nothing on Sean Bean as the main character in this film.

First,the facts.In 1995,the bodies of three men,Pat Tait,Tony Tucker and Colin Rolfe,were found in a Range Rover near the small Essex village of Rettendon.They were suspected Ecstasy dealers,but to this day,no-one knows what happened.Essex Boys is a fictional reconstruction of that incident,but doesn't pass itself off as fact.

The film follows Sean Bean,as Jason Locke,returning from prison to repay debts and ease himself into Southend's lucrative Ecstasy trade.He hires Billy (Charlie Creed-Miles) to drive for him,and Locke's rise and bloody fall are charted through Billy's eyes.

The acting is superb.Bean is frighteningly intense,Creed-Miles is likably naive as Billy and Tom Wilkinson plays a suitably oily John Dyke.Only Alex Kingston comes across as weak,although this is due to the limits of her character.

The film does drag in places,and the ending could have been better thought out,but these problems don't detract from the film as a whole.The main problem,certainly for American audiences,would be with the thick Essex accents.However,much like Scarface,the majority of the dialogue revolves around the word 'f**k' so most people will catch up without a problem.

Bean previously worked with the makers,Terry Winsor and Jeff Pope,on the equally excellent 'Fools Gold',in 1993 and Essex Boys is a good companion.Especially as Bean's character in the earlier film,Mickey MacAvoy,was linked to the 'Rettendon 3' through a gangster called Kenny Noye.Funny,the coincidences you find in the English underworld.

Violent,unsympathetic,dark and intense,Essex Boys is not for the squemish,or those looking for an uplifting experience.Ladies who are used to Bean as the dashing Sharpe will be in for a shock as the mysogenistic Locke is far from the romantic hero they may be used to.For fans of British gangster films,however,it's a must.

Trivia Quiz Question:Billy's character was nicknamed Billy Whizz.Why?