Olho por Olho

You were never really sure of the exact relationship between Alice (Gillian Anderson), the cougar businesswoman, and Adam (Danny Dyer), the 23-year-old security installer. Initially, it appeared they just met, but after he was beaten and she was gang raped, he acted like he had known her forever.

After the attack, he is struggling with his masculinity, and she is bent on revenge. Armed with daddy's weapons, she sets out to make the men pay for what they did.

Adam has a real problem. he is no good to her in her quest for revenge, and he is no good to her lying on top of her luscious body.

When Alice went to take revenge, she used Daddy's gun, but not in the way you would think. An eye for an eye; a rape for a rape. Once Adam was turned on to vengeance, she couldn't turn him off.

Good acting by Anderson in a thin movie.

Straightheads wants to be a modern version of Straw Dogs but just ends up being low wattage, low grade muddled revenge tale.

Alice (Gillian Anderson) is a high powered businesswoman who enters into a relationship with young Adam (Danny Dyer) who only came round to install a security system in her flat.

Alice probably wants a bit of rough and asks Adam to attend a party in the countryside. On their way home, Adam is attacked by three men, Alice is raped.

A month later, still traumatised after the attack, Alice wants revenge and track the men down.

Even with its short running time, this is a slow tedious film and badly shot. I never bought the relationship between the two people. We initially see Adam spying on her in his monitor as Alice comes home from work. After the attack he feels impotent, smokes dope and watches porn.

A wealthy businesswoman (Gillian Anderson) and her newly acquired working class lover (Danny Dyer) are viciously attacked while on a drive the woods. Afterwards, the only thing the woman can think of is revenge, and she calculates a plan to fulfill that. This is an intriguing modern-day "rape/revenge" thriller that focuses more on psychology and gender (as well as other social constructs) instead of the violence and action sequences that typically go hand-in-hand with the subgenre. That said, rape/revenge fans most likely won't be disappointed with this one, as it's fairly brutal and shocking. It's a little short, clocking in just over 70 minutes, so by the end I thought to myself, "is that all there is?" Yet the film did have something of an impact on me, because I found myself thinking about it all the next day and recommending it to friends. Gillian Anderson is excellent and does things you would never in a million years think you'd see Gillian Anderson do on-screen. I'll leave it at that. Danny Dyer also gives a fantastic dramatic performance. I'm not sure why he gets such a bad rap in the UK. He isn't quite famous in the States yet, but he's great in the few films I've seen him in. Thumbs up on this thought-provoking thriller, though I can't help feeling there's a chunk of the film missing.

To call Straightheads the best Danny Dyer film I've seen is to damn with faint praise. In my humble opinion, the guy cannot act. He just stands there and growls his lines, and you think: how the hell does this guy get plum roles in so many British films? Photogenic he may be, but when it comes to performing, he is never less than completely pants. At least Gillian Anderson is on hand to lend proceedings a touch of class, but the guy is still a millstone hanging around the neck of this thriller/drama.

Alice is a thirty-something worker who is having a security system fitted in her house. She decides to take the 23 year old installer Adam out to a party she is attending, and while there she makes out with him against a tree. On the return journey however, our loving couple make the mistake of angering a van full of psychos in an extreme case of road rage. This ends up in Adam being grievously injured, and Alice being raped. A month later, they are still recovering from the events of the day. But then, Alice finds out the identity of one of the attackers. Adam is quite happy to let sleeping dogs lie, but Alice, armed with this new information wants revenge. And being the daughter of an ex-soldier has distinct advantages...

You'll probably go into this 18 rated film with hopes of experiencing a few nice gory and brutal scenes. In which case, it won't disappoint... their are beating with huge spanners, dogs being shot and unspeakable acts done utilising the point of a huge rifle. OUCH! It doesn't outstay its welcome either, at a meagre running time of just 76 minutes. Hmm, wonder what the deleted scenes were like? However, due to the lack of any sympathetic characters, unbelievable plot developments and the usual Dyer (ha ha) acting by you-know-who I can't quite recommend it. 5/10 it is then. Never mind mate, you'll only improve. Maybe...

I love these types of film. Where a man or woman gets horrifically abused and goes on a bloody warpath of revenge! I know the plot is usually thin, but it's often exciting and engrossing enough to carry a film. Just the anticipation of seeing the evil b******s get exactly what they deserve. It's often a feeling of satisfaction. But, it certainly isn't the case with "Straightheads". A film the lottery decided to fund for some bizarre reason! I mean I've written a film and I think it's way better than some of the things I've seen, but do I get any lottery funding? NO!

Rape, revenge is usually quite difficult to get wrong. Even if it does go a bit belly-up it's usually fun and entertaining at least. Actually, the majority of "Straightheads" is quite dull, slow and tedious which is unexpected for its surprisingly short running time of 75 minutes or so. That's about the length of "Inside" and "REC" just think about how much incredible excitement is experienced in those minutes! "Straightheads" sort of failed immediately by being not in the least bit plausible. Would you really ask your slacker camera fitter to go to a party with you? And why would the camera fitter not even question the idea? It starts off weirdly to say the least. When the nasty abuse occurs it's shot in the least effective way with too many clumsy close-ups and basically zero lighting to see what's going on! It also feels quite nasty for the sake of it and doesn't have anywhere near of the directional flair that say, "The Ordeal" expressed during a similar scene.

After this event, you might think that the characters would become a little more likable? They don't, in fact they become even less likable and don't get developed any further either. Am I supposed to like a man who's stoned out of his mind on the sofa, playing weird chav music with porn on his telly? It also doesn't help that Danny Dyer and Gillian Anderson's acting are more wooden than the forest. I felt zero chemistry between the two characters as well, the whole relationship thing was completely unbelievable. Though it wasn't as unbelievable as the pathetic reason given to why the rape occurred!

The film also seems as if it tries to divert from any possible exciting acting that could've actually been quite fun! There's a promising bit where Danny's hiding in the house and one of the men gets a glance at him on the top of the stairs, but nothing really that exciting comes from it! Similarly, there's a part where a daughter runs out the house shouting for her dog which is swiftly avoided with yet another embarrassing sex scene between Danny and Gillian, but don't worry the camera's so clumsy that you can't see a thing!

When the revenge finally does occur (after about an hour of no-suspense building up to it) it's so quick that it feels even more pointless. I don't know if that's what the director's trying to say, that revenge is pointless, but he did it in such a way that it made his whole film pointless! Has he not seen "7 Days" or "I Saw The Devil" which tries to convey the same message in such a gripping and emotional way? (well obviously not because this came out before those two but..) It's also done in a nasty way that just seems like it's trying to shock for the sake of it. It's cringe-worthy and not in a fun "Saw" way, but in a perverted and "why am I watching this?" way!

"Straightheads" does show effective use of direction in the very last minutes but by then it's far too late to care. "Straightheads" is a dull, nasty, implausible, badly written and atrociously directed thriller that thinks it's being way more effective than it is. If you're looking for rip-roaring, emotionally-charged revenge then I would suggest "Kill Bill", "Oldboy", "I Saw The Devil" and other Korean films. Even the remake of "I Spit On Your Grave" is much more intelligent and effective than this. I'd recommend giving this one a miss.