Dirty Weekend

I only saw this as I was writing a review for a college magazine at the time and thought it would be easier to write about a bad movie than a good one. I didn't realise just how easy it wou ld be. I saw it on a wet afternoon in a mutliplex, and 4 of the 6 people in the cinema walked out. I wish I was one. Awful in every possible respect, if Edison had known that this would happen to his great invention he would have hid the patent. Not out of curiosity, masochism or desperation should you give this a look.

There is a bad and good side to this film. Bad because of the detail i.e the lingering expressionless looks of Bella gets a bit over done and you're not sure what these mean in relation to the film sometimes. All the 'nasty' male characters she encounters are too obviously the entire(minority) arseholes of the male population...which in turn makes what happens the good side of the film.

Good because of the age old formula of the victim getting revenge on the bad guys is female . Even though it's all a little bit silly & OTT it's worth a watch if even just for the nasty bits. Is Bella tipped over the edge or just coolly enjoying her sadistic pursuits now? You decide...

Controversial? What's the big deal? Sure it comes across as tasteless, perverse and unsavoury, but really the underlining black humour in the smarting script and a revenge fantasy layout does mildly soften the savage intentions. When released; the British (sort-of) feminine vigilante 'Dirty Weekend' caused a real uproar. I seen it labelled as pornographic, but it doesn't really come close. It can get dark, daring and nasty, but never arouses. The raving screenplay by Michael Winner and Helen Zahavi (which it's based upon her novel) is lyrically intrusive, can be offbeat, grotesque (you'll know when) and wears its feminist liberation proudly. Surprisingly I thought it was well thought out even with some patchy inclusions and silly developments. However the absurdity it succumbs to makes for an uneven balance between the humour and serious matter. The waxing between the characters was always amusing, especially when the tables are finally turned. Watching the vulnerable nature of our single female protagonist slowly transform and breathe growing confidence (going from a shivering victim to a sardonic murderer) is done in a wonderfully hardy portrayal by Lia Williams. Some might finde her superficially bland, but I found her suitably incisive. The majority of the men come off as filth, unpleasant and sleazy. David McCallum is substantially good as the fractious dentist and Rufus Sewell is fairly unnerving as the grubby pervert. Sean Pertwee also gets a taste of his own medicine. Director Michael Winner's frank handling is gusty and his sledgehammer approach productively works along side the no-holds barred material. Sometimes the way it was shot it felt like a cheap TV movie. Mainly due to the editing. While the crude violence has a malicious streak, it isn't overly explicit or even convincing, but it can evoke severity. David Fanshawe's eclectically uncanny and soulful music score is an odd one to behold. At times it has a majestic air, but other cues are a complete mess. Interesting low-brow and misogynistic exploitation nonetheless.

This is a nasty and crude little offering from Mr Winner, which has quite a lot of heinous and cruel male characters in it. All set amongst the splendid flowers and apparent tranquility that is Southern England. But no, we are treated to some despicable men, such as a two-timing rotter; a psychopathic threatening phone-caller; a lecherous copper; a randy, grotesquely obese chap; a dentist who forces a woman to give him fellatio; and three nefarious blokes who savour in trying to set fire to an old vagrant woman. The picture has a definite menacing air to it throughout, has the lead lady Bella is repeatedly threatened by the said men and takes revenge and eventually gets her justice. I'm not going to entirely condemn the film, it has some moments, but it is difficult to watch. Only really for vigilante and Michael Winner film fans.

I first saw this film at the cinema and found it quite funny in a sick sort of way. What I liked about it was the British feel to it. The story is a Death Wish type clone (Death Wish also directed by Mr Winner)it has some memorable characters in and also some memorable places from Brighton. If your after a bit of fun and don't mind some sick scenes you may like this. Also this film was banned from video release for a few years back in the mid 90's. There are some scenes cut out from the cinema release, but that does not affect the film in any way. Oh I also liked the soundtrack which suited the film very well. Even by today's standard this film has a dark and moody feel to it and may even find it's very own cult status one day.