The end of Cold War has completely changed socio-economic and political situation, and not only in East Europe. Even some people on the western side of former Iron Curtain had their lives radically altered. One of those was protagonist of Face, British 1997 crime thriller directed by Antonia Bird. Ray (played by Robert Carlyle) used to be radical left-wing activist and spent much of 1980s confronting Margaret Thatcher's regime. In 1990s he finally saw his youthful idealism betrayed and people more interested in getting rich at the expense of their fellow man than building better and more just society. When Ray tried to follow their example, it was too late to do it through legal means. He turned to crime and now has a gang consisting of his half retarded former prison cellmate Stevie (played by Steve Waddington), veteran East End criminal Dave (played by Ray Winstone), aged psychopath Julian (played by Philip Davis) and Jason (played by Damon Albarn), young nephew of the local crime boss. Their hit on West End security firm is conducted successfully but it turns out that they took less money than planned. Five criminals start arguing with each other and later some of them and their families become targets of mysterious assailants. Ray is determined to find those attackers, despite having police on his back.
Mixing Tarantinoesque drama about small-time criminals with serious socio-political commentary on post-Thatcherite Britain probably wasn't the best idea, and it shows in Face. Ronnan Bennet's script, for example, never manages to explain why Ray transformed from political activist into small-time criminal. At times film also tries to be too preachy, showing that adoption of materialist values that had crushed Communism and leftist ideologies also corrupted the very capitalist system Communists and other leftists tried to destroy. The viewers, on the other hand, won't have that much trouble with Face if they see it as straightforward crime thriller. Antonia Bird directs it very well and keeps audience entertained until surrealistically violent showdown at the end. The acting in the film is great, with veterans like Carlyle, Peter Vaughn and Ray Winstone sharing time with non-actors in cameo roles (pop musician Damon Albarn and Gerry Conlon, real-life protagonist of In the Name of the Father). Carlyle is especially effective, because he convincingly portrays character who tries to apply his youthful idealism and collectivist principles to dog-eat-dog world of street crime. Happy ending is the weakest element of Face - its upbeat tone is in sharp contrast with the general bleakness of the film as a whole. However, thanks to Bird's superb direction and great acting, Face is a film that won't be a source of embarrassment for its authors.
RATING: 5/10 (++)
(Note: The text in its original form was posted in Usenet newsgroup rec.arts.films.reviews on July 14th 2004)
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