Rollin' with the Nines

I watched this film last night and although i enjoyed it, i was left feeling a little disappointed as well. There is no need for me to explain the plot again, as this has been covered by other users. OK, so it isn't the most original story line, but it was carried off rather well. Naomi Taylor as 'Hope' was particularly good, as were most of the actors (with the exception of the wooden Police officers, especially Dominic Alan-Smith with his mono-tone voice).

The well commented on rape scene was disturbing and uncomfortable to watch and the night club assassination and Yardie crack den shoot outs were fantastically done and electrifying to watch.

What disappointed me were the little details. An undercover cop driving around a predominately black council estate, in a top of the range Range rover with a private number plate? Not very undercover really is it? I also got the feeling that the film had made compromises to suit the American market (a Captain in the British Police? and misdemeanour offences??). Some of the Police station scenes felt more 'Midsomer murders' than Yardie gangsta. Inexcusable really....

Call me picky, but little details can make or break a film and i was left feeling slightly disappointed that such obvious compromises to the overseas market had tainted what, in all other respects, was a very good film.

Within the first five minutes it wasn't the nines I was rolling but my eyes . Oh dear I thought yet another British film where some white middle class posh boys straight out of film school produce a movie that tells what life is like in da ghetto where life is cheap short and brutal and the inhabitants speak in a unique language which makes no sense unless you're Ali G . Despite this I did give it a chance since it was directed by Julien Gilbey who did the very under rated RISE OF THE FOOTSOLDIER . I'm glad I did because this film is very engaging though perhaps not in a good way

Okay guv I confess . It's a fairly terrible movie . After the first five minutes we're treated to a drive by killing followed by a rape followed by a revenge killing . This all happens by the ten minute mark and the film has to pad out the next hour and a half by having gangland executions more retaliations and every sentence filled with the F and C words . At least I could understand the F and C words though , probably because I'm a white working class Celt . I didn't have a clue what the black characters were talking about and even if you're Brixton born and bred I guess you'd have no understanding of what this street lingo is . It goes way beyond parody and no matter who says what none of the dialogue sounds natural in anyway . We have a couple of corrupt cops and you'd be forgiven for thinking you're watching a comedy sketch show where a couple of comedians lampoon American cop shows . Their superior is referred to as " Captain " but as far as I know the Metropolitan police force don't have such a rank though they do in America . In more than a few places you think the action is taking place in an alternative universe where the Battle of Stalingrad meets South Central LA where the cops and the drug dealers engage in bitter house to house fighting

Yet despite all this or maybe because of all this ROLLIN remains very watchable . As I said it's a terrible film and is so over the top you worry the film might end up in orbit around Jupiter , but it's this deranged quality that keeps you watching similar as to watching a car crash . Some of the cast do deserve some praise such as Terry Stone for keeping a straight face as they spout their dubious dialogue , though some of them such as Roffem Morgan as Rage are guilty of some painfully obvious wooden acting . Watch the scene where Rage has sex in a toilet and I've got to admit I've shown more passion doing a crossword puzzle . Gilbey also has a strange framing technique where everything is shot in medium close up but I guess that might be down to a lack of budget . He does deserve some credit in crafting a film that is thoroughly unpleasant , populated by universally unlikable characters that has not an ounce of realism and yet it's a film I enjoyed in a sleazy sort of way . Not something I'd admit to in a hurry

There is no doubt that this film sticks in the mind. But it is most defiantly a film that will split opinions down the middle. Violent and morally dubious this film turns the stomach.

The direction is confident but the rape scene will unsettle to the point of nausea, as will the frequent violence.

But there's just something else about this film. Something highly unsettling. I can't put my finger on in it but there's something that just makes you feel… dirty. And I'm no prude.

Mostly the cast is good but it's all a bit lock stock for my liking.

Special mention to Terry Stone who is very good, if occasionally over reliant on the dreaded C word but Vas Blackwood and Jayson Fleming just seem like they are sleep walking through there doubtless well paid roles.

Technically proficient, well made and with a certain sheen that most UK films lack this film has more than it's fair share of stand out moments. But as I said it leaves you feeling... dirty.

I saw Rollin' with the nines in Newham Showcase Cinema on Friday, and I was very pleasantly surprised! The first maybe 20-25 minutes was extremely hard to get into. It was a bit of a barrage on your senses getting thrown into this world at the deep end. However the film changes direction at the half hour mark and goes from strength to strength.

The best bit of the whole film was the first raid on the yardies. It was as good if not better then the Hollywood film Narc, which I love. It was really excellent, got the heart racing and was filmed brilliantly. Another nice scene was the tale of the Sawn off 12 gauge, original and clever.

Me and my mates who went to see it all agreed Rollin' was best when following the coppers. Weird I know, because after most gangster films it kind of makes you want to be a gangster, but the film shows those characters life's so brutally that after the film it kind of makes you want to a hard arse detective, even though they were 'corrupt' cops! The best performance is from Terry Stone, he has a real screen presence, stealing scenes away from seasoned Brit flick actors like Vas Blackwood and Jason Flemyng.

A really brilliant effort for a low budget British film, I hope it gets the cinema time it rightfully deserves, especially when their is rubbish like Scary Movie 4 out there clogging up our theatres! It may start very heavy for the average cinema goer but stick with it, because by the end you don't want it to end.

This debut deserved a lot more praise than it got.

Excellent foundations to launch from marred by the fact it didnt launch anyone.

Terry Stone shows that when he's not shouting his lines can actually give a decent turn. A very honest performance that for whatever reason he left on this set and took the Danny Dyer approach to acting instead. such a waste.