Saturday, June 6, 2009

Scotsman Review on New Town Killers


The Scotsman has now posted their review of Richard Jobson's New Town Killers, along with a new interview with the director and star Dougray Scott. The interview naturally contains no mention of Sigma own and co-star Alastair Mackenzie, but it can be read here. As for the actual review, the latter half is worth a read:

New Town Killers is the kind of film that stretches its cast physically rather than emotionally, an action movie that almost runs out of breath. Jobson's own authorial touches include a literal cliffhanger where our hero grapples with the ledges and pipes of an Edinburgh townhouse and two encounters with a gang of Edinburgh toughs which end in greasy terror in two different ways. Less successful is a scene where two children get hold of a gun late on in the film; by this time quite a few bodies have already piled up and this pause to meditate on violence and the innocent feels unnecessary, overscored and underpowered, even if one of the kids is played by the director's daughter. Viewed as a reasonable B-movie or a so-so A-movie, it's still Jobson's most effective film to date, capitalising on Dougray Scott's smooth villainy, fluent action sequences and some nicely gothic shots of Edinburgh. It also shows a certain ethical sturdiness that seems quaint in these exploitative times; it may be hip as old boots, but in New Town Killers, no transgression goes unpunished in the end. It's only when the characters stop and deliver monologues about the class divide that the film flags – Jobson appears to have Beethoven's ear for the way people talk, and the philosophical exchanges between alpha male and his beta quarry have all the sparkle of a mortgage application. Still, provided you close your ears when anyone speaks for longer than 30 seconds, you'll have a grand time.

On a related note, Dougray Scott and his beautiful wife Claire Forlani (Sigma's Hallam Foe) were guest at tonight's Raisa Gorbachev Gala Fundraiser Ball held at Hampton Court Palace London, photo of the handsome couple ------>.






New Town Killers will be released on Thursday with a screening, Q & A and private after party featuring a performance by Isa & the Filthy Tongues. The trailer can be found here; theme song by ISA here

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