Yet another film inspired by 'King Lear'; this time set in the world of drug running and violence in rundown Liverpool. This makes it as quirky a setting as Imperial Japan (Ran) or the wild West (Broken Lance) but it doesn't quite come off.
Yes, the parallels are there. Richard Harris as Sandeman gives up control of his gangster empire to his two unlikeable daughters while effectively 'banishing' the youngest; there is a character who has his eyes put out as Gloucester did ... and yet, behind this inspiration the story is thin indeed.
Beautifully shot and atmospheric in its detail of the bleak Merseyside setting, this film disappoints with largely poor acting and a cop-out ending - where we should have had fire and brimstone, we had a whimper.
Richard Harris however is excellent, as ever, in a towering performance which makes me grieve that we never got to see him play Lear for real. There are few actors who could put this complex character across (a variant on the one he played in 'Trojan Eddie', sure, but a meaty role none the less). He's let down by the script but with what he has to work with he is impressive and the one reason to see this film.
