Spivs

This wasn't at all what I expected. I was expecting something along the lines of Snatch and instead got a reasonably thoughtful story about a middle aged man realising he has wasted the majority of his life on cheap con tricks.

I went to see this for Dominic Monaghan and let's be honest, Dom is barely in this and his character is, though entertaining and sweet, largely irrelevant to the film. In fact one of his scenes is so irrelevant you suspect it of having been inserted merely to up his screen time.

I didn't actually enjoy the film all that much, not because it was bad but I think because I could find no handle with which to identify with the three main characters. They lived lives I would never live, behaving in ways I would never consider, and the lead character (Ken Stott) more so than the others. There were a few moments when you felt emotion for him, but for me the whole thing was just too far from my sphere of experience. I am not a con man, I could never be a con man and have no desire to be one. I don't understand the mindset. Dom's character is actually easier to empathise with, for me anyway, and not just cause I can feel some sort of connection for any character played by Dom cause the connection already exists. He's a simple minded lad who doesn't think much about what he's doing, he drifts through his life in a cloud of cannabis smoke and that's enough for him, he's the pettiest of criminals, not out to hurt anyone in particular and not looking for the big time. He comes across as a sweet if slightly deluded guy, not the best influence in the world but not the worst either. He does add a nice lightness and goofiness to scenes that might have been a bit heavy otherwise. I would have liked to see more of him but there wasn't room for him in this script which settled down into a psychological drama with gangster side salad.

The film was good, but not great. It lacked connection and I can't take all the blame for that, a truly great film can make you connect with it's characters no matter how far they stray from yourself. Perhaps it was too tight lipped, you could never quite see deep enough into the characters to touch what was implied.

This film is suffering a bit of an identity crisis - is it a comedy, a drama or what? There are good performances from Kate Ashfield and some of the best moments in the film are the ones with Ken Stott, his aunt (Linda Bassett) and the children - these are tender moments that are well captured. Jack Dee's character is weak and badly portrayed. There are some fun moments but overall this film doesn't gel well. Go and see this film to support British movie making, its a sweet film that portrays the wheeler dealers of east London and had it had a few more bucks in the budget, could have been tightened up somewhat to produce a gem perhaps.

One of the best movies that i have seen in years, a true and gritty depiction of London life, with a comedic strain that can only be described as classic British humour. Spivs is a also a touching heartfelt story about the horror that is the modern day slave trade. A truly strong and great piece of cinema I can't recommend it enough. Onwards and upwards for the British Film Industry.

Support the British Film Industry on Friday the 24th September when SPIVS is released.

A film born and breed in Britain. A true depiction of British life today, this witty yet gritty comedy-drama stars: Ken Stott (King Arthur,) Nick Moran (Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels,) Kate Ashfield, (Shaun of the Dead,) Dominic Monaghan (The Lord of the Rings Trilogy,) Jack Dee and Paul Kaye

SPIVS Cert 15 Running time 91 Minutes.

Carnaby Films are a totally unique company, funded by the British people, for the British people.

well first of all i want to say that the featurette on the DVD is better than the actual film, which is why i gave it a seven. i only watched this movie because i knew dominic monaghan was in it, i think they underused his character though. i thought it was a good plot and nothing at all what i expected it to be. its quite a sad movie and doms characters only purpose, apart from 1 line, is only there to lighten the mood. it was very...British. lots of grey, if you know what i mean. but still a good bit of British film. they had a very low budget and many investors were actually given places in it as extras. so with no money and limited resources i think they did a pretty good job. byeX

Spivs has a believable, clever but not over complicated plot. As the film starts with the stereotypical spiv characters we seem in store for a light hearted conmen comedy, an attempt at 'The Sting' maybe. But the film becomes gradually darker and nothing you thought you could predict occurs. The desperation and anguish that overcomes the main character is brilliantly portrayed by Ken Stott, as we are transferred from the feel of 'Shooting Fish' to 'Mona Lisa'. All performances are good with Stott stealing the show but the mafia boss wasn't menacing enough and seemed slightly out of place, while his main henchman was very frightening. The direction was generally OK with some genuinely gripping scenes but some overused flashy camera-work did lose the film some momentum in places. Overall, I enjoyed the film.