Customer Reviews

London

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

"London" reunites almost the entire cast of "Cellular" (Chris Evans, Jessica Biel, and Jason Statham) as well as Isla Fisher (Wedding Crashers) and Kelli Garner (Thumbsucker) for this underappreciated and, in my opinion, very well done movie. The movie got terrible reviews and was even called "boring" by Richard Roeper. When a film critic calls a movie boring, you know there's something up. I knew I would like this movie, but I saw myself giving it a B- or even a C. Oddly enough, I loved this movie. The movie stars Evans as Syd. Syd is a cokehead who is suffering from the breakup of his girlfriend of two years, London (Biel). They've been broken up for a little over 6 months and Syd has become a sort of empty shell; He frequently dreams about her and such. Then, Syd recieves a phone call and finds out that London is having a going away party...Apparently, she's moving to L.A. to live with her new boyfriend. Shocked by the news, Syd meets up with a guy named Bateman (Statham) who sells him some blow and Syd insists that Bateman tag along with him to the party. When they arrive, Syd and Bateman head up to the bathroom and talk about their problems, God, and love. This is pretty much what 3/4 of the movie is. The other 1/4 of it is the flashbacks Syd has about London and when he finally confronts her at the party. The biggest complaint from critics was the bathroom scene...It was too long and the conversations were dull. Well, if you're going to see it and don't know about the long bathroom sequences...Yes, maybe they are long and dull. If you're going to see and know about these scenes, however, they might not be as bad. I found the scenes to fit perfectly in the movie. The dialogue in the film is really good and has an improvised feel to it. Statham and Evans are great and really get to show off their acting skills. Even Biel is good as London. The end of the movie isn't necessarily what you hope for, but it's realistic and in that sense is perfect. I'm not guaranteeing everyone will like this movie, most people will agree with Ebert & Roeper. I'm not using this review to convince anyone, but am merely sharing my opinions. Hope you like it.
GRADE: A-

NOTE TO JESSICA BIEL FANS:
There is sex scenes in the film, but as far as showing Jessica Biel naked; The director teases you. The camera will move upward right as she gets out of bed or the place she's standing will be darkened. So, if you're renting this movie for the sole reason of catching a glimpse of a nude-Jessica Biel. This movie is definitley not for you.

I enjoyed the hell out of this movie. It was about a guy who was in a relationship with a girl for 2 years and then gets dumped and can't move on. Then she ends up getting ready to move in with her new beau 6 months later, and the entire movie consists of flashbacks of the good and bad of their relationship. It also has some excellent supporting characters with some interesting stories. My favorite is the main character's dealer, who is mentally scarred over losing his wife because of things that are beyond his control.

The movie makes you walk away with several things to think about. First of all, you're not the only one who knows pain, everyone has their own story and your personal hell is no more painful than the next guy's. Secondly, it shows you that whatever you're going through, chances are you're not going through it alone. Sometimes you have to reach out to that other person so that they can hear you say I need you. Or, I love you. And the most important lesson of all is that Life will move on with or without you, and sometimes the best thing you can do for yourself is to just let go.

I loved this movie. I loved everything about it. Watch it. You will too.

Hunter Richards makes his writing and directing debut with this quirky, odd, strenuous, frustrating, noisy...but pretty polished little low budget movie LONDON. While this film will not garner a big audience, for those who see it there will be keen anticipation of Richards next outing.

London (Jessica Biel, a beautiful and talented screen presence) is a frustrated lover of Syd (Chris Evans, likewise a hunky and very fine actor): Syd is strung out on coke and though passionate as a lover he is unable to verbalize 'I love you' to fill London's needs for intimacy. All of this information we receive trough flashbacks and dream sequences as the film takes place in one day - the day London is leaving after a farewell party in her honor. Syd is self-destructive as well as actively aggressive, and while not invited to London's party, he crashes it with his dealer Bateman (Jason Statham, who sports hair here and an even more impressive acting outing). The crux of the story takes place in an extended bathroom conversation during which time both men do lines of coke and swigs of tequila and compare notes: Syd bemoans his loss of London and his regrets while Bateman violently compares his loss of potency to be a far greater problem. All manner of topics arise, not the least of which is Syd's atheism and his lack of belief in just about everything. His sole reason for attending London's party is to win back her love, but coke and the shallowness of Syd's character prevent that.

Interesting situation, here: Evans, Biel, and Statham all give fine performances but their characters engender absolutely no empathy from the viewer. Perhaps this is Hunter Richards' concept: drugs destroy the minds of otherwise very strong people, that temporary highs prevent appreciation of the immediate matrix that can grow into something lasting and valuable. Yes, the script is preachy and full of gross dialogue, but the underpinnings of good filmmaking are evident enough to make us aware that Hunter Richards has talent. And it is always a pleasure to see actors heretofore accepted as eye candy prove they can take on beefy tough roles that stretch their acting abilities. Grady Harp, May 06

I first saw this on-line, by rental, and I really liked it. The characters feel real, flawed, and possibly unlikeable. You can't just tell someone "don't see this move," when it desperately depends on the person. Yes, there is sexual explicit dialogue and detailed converations of experiences the characters have had but it has the realism of actual conversations; Yes, the amount of drugs they ingest would make it astronomically impossible for them to still have coherent conversations, but that is the only bold flaw in the film. I love these kind of films--real life situations--"Before Sunrise" and "Before Sunset," which are brilliant films.

In closing, this has flaws but overall makes up for them in the end.

I love finding movies that had I not seen on tv I would know nothing about. This movie is very rich in dialog and its a dialog movie. Its just a glimpse of one couples life in america in our time period. Just like apinting a portrait or snapping a picture, this movie captures a glimpse of our time period and brilliantly. The characters all have dark sides which I personally loved. Lastly I wanna give this movie 5 stars because I wanna balance the overall rating. Great movie.

With its Pulp Fiction-like dialogue and wit, London does a brilliant job of grabbing and maintaining the viewer's attention throughout, especially in the flashback scenes. It is an intelligent movie that requires your attention to detail to appreciate it satrical and dark humor. The themes may be common, however, this movie is completely original in its presentation. Tired of Will Farrel and American Pie-like humor? Give London a try and experience a smarter and more artistic form romantic heart break.

I found London to be a fantastic film - gritty, intense, dramatic, and raw. It sort of grabs you by the throat and throttles you every so often, never selling itself out for a single minute. The story doesn't give you what you have come to expect, especially in terms of the ending, and I think that's a very encouraging sign for the future of Hollywood in this new century. London has an inner fire that's almost palpable. It's not a film everyone will enjoy, however. Some viewers (especially older ones, I expect) just won't connect with it, and some will be turned away from the language and drug use it depicts. Other will surely find it mesmerizing, so I say don't be afraid to take a chance with this film.

To be honest, I wasn't sure how I would react to this film. Aside from the almost constant drug use among the characters, it's not exactly easy to get all that excited over a story that takes place, for the most part, inside a bathroom. No plot summary can really describe this film, though, as its heart and soul boils down to emotions and characters. London is all about love and the train wreck of a life it can leave in its wake. Some may not think the film makes a great deal of sense, but when has love ever been about making sense or behaving rationally or living happily ever after? This movie is real to the core.

The centerpiece of the story is Syd (Chris Evans), an emotional mess of a fellow who has a seemingly terminal case of love for his ex-girlfriend London (Jessica Biel). He's just not capable of dealing with his loss, as therapy, cocaine, and booze just aren't doing the trick. When he finds out that London is leaving the country to move in with some guy in L.A. and that he wasn't even invited to her going-away party, he really starts coming unglued. Seeing this as his last chance to talk to London and try to get her back, he decides to show up at the party, anyway. Along the way, he manages to drag Bateman (Jason Statham), his friendly neighborhood coke supplier, along with him. They quickly make their way upstairs to the bathroom, and that is where Syd stays until such time as he can work up the gumption to go down and talk to London. This bathroom, I should mention, is not your conventional bathroom - it's bigger than my first apartment, has plenty of windows with a great view of the city, and seems to be the perfect place for snorting cocaine and seriously hitting the bottle.

As Syd talks (and rants) to Bateman and a couple of female pals over the course of an hour or so, the nature of his relationship with London is revealed, along with some revelations on Bateman's part, as well. The conversation between both of these men is oftentimes rather disgusting, but every part of it demands and deserves your attention. I'm pretty sure Syd had to have been the worst boyfriend ever. He certainly got little sympathy from me, as he's an incredibly needy, jealous, egotistical nuisance who constantly starts arguments over the least little thing - and he can't even bring himself to tell London he loves her. Even putting his obvious drug problem aside, this guy was born with emotional problems. Therefore, I see the film as something of an anti-romance; I certainly wasn't pulling for Syd to win London's heart in the end. Bateman is actually the most compelling character in the film, largely due to a tremendous performance by Jason Statham.

London fully deserves its R rating for gratuitous drug use and strong language. Several of the characters snort cocaine like it's going out of style, but I don't really buy into the notion that the film warns against the allure of such recreational drug use. Obviously, no one wants to be like Syd, but the film certainly doesn't go out of its way to present any negative consequences of drug abuse - I found it pretty ambivalent in this regard, actually.

Basically, what we have here is an uncomfortably honest, edgy, intense film about love and loss and dealing with the emotional trauma these things oftentimes induce. It doesn't march to the drum of conventional Hollywood scripts, it holds nothing back in terms of content, and it eschews anything resembling a storybook ending. To me, it's a truly impressive, relatively undiscovered gem of a motion picture.

After three months, I finally opened up London--not the city--the movie, starring Chris Evans (Fantastic Four, Cellular), Jessica Biel (7th Heaven, Stealth), Jason Statham (The Italian Job, Crank).

Thinking this movie would be as boring as all hell, and to be perfectly honest, buying it because of the names on the cover. And let's face--Jessica Biel...wow!

Boring was something this movie was not.

It's a love, a real world, backstreet love story. Sex, drugs and boos are part of the ultimate package.

Syd (Evans) is on the verge of self-destruction with drugs and boos, realizing his lost relationship with London (Biel) was harder on him than he thought it would be.

I've never seen Jessica Biel in such raw form; aside from the fantastic acting by the entire cast, the storyline written by director, Hunter Richards.

This is love on the breaking point of all breaking points.


I can highly recommend this movie and be very confident that if you do rent or buy it, you'd be satisfied with the result.


--Joseph McGee, author of In the Wake of the Night, Phil's Place and Darkness Won't Rest: Phils Place II

London portrays an evening in the life of Syd (Chris Evans) as he attends the going-away party of his estranged ex-girlfriend London (Jessica Biel) in an attempt to reconcile their relationship. He meets the cocaine dealer Bateman (Jason Statham) before heading to the party and invites him along. The pair do line after line of coke in a bathroom and have conversations along typical hipster topics such as God, Sex, relationships, etc. while Syd musters the urge to join the party and confront London.

I thought the casting in this movie was fairly good; Statham is excellent as Bateman, and Joy Bryant proves to be an nice foil to his edginess. The two problems I had were with Chris Evans, and, minorly, with Isla Fisher as the party's hostess Becca. Evans has been typecast as an All-American good guy and it is difficult for me to see him shed that skin and take lines in a bathroom and swig tequila from the bottle. Fisher's affected British accent is downright awful, but she is a minor character.

Something that I think many (casual) viewers would miss is the thought put into the motifs and shots of each scene. Mirrors appear often (I think actually a quarter of the movie was shot at a mirror, rather than at the actors themselves); this represents the introspection of a cocaine high as well as the soul-searching that follows a failed relationship. Also, the party loft and the bathroom specifically feature religious statues and art everywhere, echoing the philosophic conversations.

Hunter Richards and Jo Willems, the director and cinematographer, respectively, did a great job of staving away the claustrophobic feeling of being in one room (the restroom) for most of the film. The many shots break up the scene while not being too choppy, and flashbacks are melded fairly seamlessly. The lighting maitains the tone, especially in scenes in the bathroom and Syd's apartment.

I think the one big problem that many people have with this film is that the topics in Syd's conversation with Bateman seem too cliche. That is the case in some instances; if you do recreational drugs with others, you may have a feeling of deja vu, especially during the "God" philosophical discussion. This is where Statham saves the movie with his deeply personal anecdotes and revelation about his fictional wife, "Heather."

Overall, I think this is a respectable first film for writer/directer Hunter Richards.

That's right. I watched this movie because of its' soundtrack. The cyrstal method is heavily on and produced the soundtrack and as i love them I assumed they wouldn't score a pile of crap movie....and they didn't...entirely.


This movie DOES take place mostly in a bathroom, there ARE mountains of coke, they ARE people we don't care all that much about...BUT

There is some interesting dialogue....actually to be fair there is mostly dialogue..

So if you like to listen to people you don't like or care about talk for long periods of time this movie is for you....sounds like i hated it huh? There was something about it though that made me NOT hate it (aside from the music)..although I don't quite love it...and it's most definitely NOT everyone's cup of tea, java, or whathave you...BUT if you like something different in a movie this gives you that...not to say it's groundbreakingly original or anything but you've really got to see it for yourself and judge it foryourself as to if it's something you would like....

SO...

I recommend for people want to watch something that isn't cookie cutter material while at the same time isn't something groundbreaking or amazingly different; anyone who likes to listen or watch people talk; and anyone who likes to see copious amounts of drugs on display

I don't recommend it for people who already know they are going to hate it, people who love only action films, people who live on a moral plateua where they stand and judge everyone else, and circus midgets...j/k...and people who get bored easily...there we go

:D

(((please be sure to tell me how unhelpful my review was to you by clicking no..haha))