Circus

If you were expecting a comedy, be prepared to be disappointed. This is not a funny movie. It is often violent, and sometimes more graphic than need be, but... It was interesting, complex, and had a multilayer feel to it. Who is betraying whom? The dialog wasn't bad, the acting somewhat stylized (a la a David Lynch movie) but not to the point of distraction. It has a certain amount of the feel of "Snatch", moving in the parts of English not-so-nice society. And in the end, you're glad that the "good" guy wins (although he is willing to do, and see things done, that would hardly qualify him as a "good" good guy.)

My American Girlfriend and I (2 of the 8 people in the cinema, watched this film after a 2 hour wait, and were impressed with what we saw. The film itself is constructed with the same narrative as Pulp Fiction, with the comedy stylings of Shallow Grave. The comedy within the film are subtle and not the laughing out loud that many expect of a comedy. Twists and turns that evolve into a plot that make the film worth watching from start to end. As for the acting, John Hannah is great as the sneaky Leo, and as for THE Eddie Izzard, the man never fails to make me laugh, even when he is playing a villain. Eddie has taken a lot of flak from this film but he manages to keep a nasty dark edge to his character, and it annoys me that people expect Eddie to make them laugh every time he is in a film, when acting he is NOT a stand-up comic, he is an actor, and whether bad or good should be viewed as that, but I think he was great in this film, as he was in Mystery Men, and The Secret Agent as Vladimir. Overall the film is enjoyable and entertaining, for those who have not seen it yet, indulge yourselves!!!!

"Circus" was barely released in cinemas even in Britain and, from what I understand, skipped US cinemas despite its Columbia backing. It's an okay watch for cable at 3 a.m. (which, interestingly enough, is when I watched it), but that's about it.

The movie's scuppered by the ludicrous casting of comedian Brian Conley as a gangster who we see taking a bite of a man's ear in the beginning; he comes off as too playground-villainous to take seriously, and the rest of the movie is just as plausible (tip: do not go and attack and/or threaten people when there are witnesses around, a piece of advice ignored TWICE in the course of the movie). David Logan's script needed some stronger direction and a bit of restraint, instead of piling double-cross upon double-cross until it's soon hard to tell just what the hell's going on, culminating in an "Oh-for-God's-sake!" ending.

"Circus" is diverting enough, but a waste of John Hannah, a bigger waste of Fred Ward, something of a waste of Amanda Donohoe, and an absolutely criminal waste of Famke Janssen (who is not only super-fit but, unlike Conley, actually CAN be convincingly tough - it's impossible to believe she appeared in both this and "X-Men" in 2000 ... then again, she did do "House on Haunted Hill"). What she was doing in this movie we can only speculate; did she fancy a trip to Brighton? Or is she a secret fan of "Rebus"? Or "The Brian Conley Show"?

And one more piece of advice - don't go mentioning "The Sweet Smell Of Success" in your movie, unless you really want to draw unfair comparisons. Mind you, it's preferable to actually going to a circus; I never liked the things.

I think that saying this film has too many is not what makes this film bad. The twists are not the problem of the film. The story is quite clever and could have been very cool if filmed right. The major problems why everyone is complaining about the twists in the film is that the film is just not fascinating enough to make people follow them. The film is badly shot (at least in comparison to its genre brother Lock, Stock). Worse: the characters are (although often well acted) just plain flat. The characters don't have enough time to be introduced well enough to let the viewer get involved with a single one of them, let alone understand them. Oh, and the locations are just terrible: locations-person (I didn't bother to watch the credits for your name) - get another job (maybe still photography or interior design)

Circus is a good caper flick. It is as unpretentious as its small-time crook characters, and should be treated as such. It is good fun, with some pretty hilarious dialogue.

Janssen and Hannah make a good couple. I have read some reviews that said they were not believable; I disagree. I actually thought they were a cute couple, and that they shared a kind of playful chemistry. The supporting players were also very good, particularly Stormare and Izzard.

Many people have complained about this movie's numerous twists and turns. However, I do not think the outcome would have been the same without them. Also, personally, I like to be surprised.