44” Chest
(2009)
Warning: If you
are offended by swearing, give this film a miss. The dialogue is riddled with
expletives of the most graphic kind.
Ray Winstone plays an East-End hard nut who finds out that his
wife, who he loves, has had a fling with a Spanish waiter. He is devastated so
his friends gather round and help kidnap the Loverboy (as he is known in the
cast list). They setup a kangaroo court in an empty house to decide what to do
with him.
Most of the film takes place in the house but interspersed
with flash backs. The friends are John Hurt as an aging psychopath, Ian McShane
as a homosexual thug, Tom Wilkinson as the voice of reason and Stephen Dillane.
This is one of those films that, when you look at the reviews, seem to split
people into either loving it or of complaining that nothing happens (i.e. no
car chases or explosions). It is all in the script and the performances,
sometimes funny and often shocking.
John Hurt turns in a brilliant performance as Old Man Peanut –
the nastiest Grandad you wouldn’t want to meet down a dark alley, but even this
character has depth and nuance. Ray Winstone is put through the emotional
wringer and Ian McShane does a good turn as the cool, emotionless gambler,
while Tom Wilkinson and Stephan Dillane do sterling support work.
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