Sugarhouse

Sugarhouse is something that has been done in the past quite a lot in British cinema with the likes of Bullet Boy and Kidulthood, a film centred around the raw realities of life and of course crime. There isn't really anything new with Sugarhouse, but what it does do is revitalise classics like those above and give you a more up to date adaption.

This adaption in question includes the talents of Steven Mackintosh and Andy Serkis, both well known British actors along with new British talent Ashley D. Sugarhouse is dark, compromising and of course brings up questions about morality and human nature. Violent at times but of course this is what makes this specific genre so appealing and riveting! I'd recommend this film to fans of either Rollin' With The Nines or Kidulthood.

Having seen the play Collision at The Old Red Lion some years ago I was interested and exited to see this film version of one of the best contemporary bits of theatre I have seen in recent years. Where the play was taut, tense, real, funny and ultimately moving the film is flabby, hard to follow and ultimately unbelievable.

The film never makes its mind up if it is a serious drama or an urban caper. Consequently it feels unbalanced. The performances echo this; ranging from 'real' to totally cartoon like. Somehow the simple plot ends up being hard to follow and the tension of the three way confrontation is totally lost.

The play made you laugh but at the same time kept you on the edge of your seat - however the film has no humour at all. Where did all that wonderful, very funny and also poignant dialogue between the crack head and the middle class character that was in the play go to?

Perhaps in the hands of a Ken Loach this film would have worked better than it does. As it stands it feels like a total let down of what it could have been.

What a shame.

There are no scenes in this movie- just mainly ONE SET of a warehouse area. That right away tells you this movie has no budget, and a variety of other moments show you this is a shoe-string budget affair and the storytelling suffers as a result.

This is the story of a man who meets up with a Jamaican crackhead to try and buy something. Unfortunately several other people want to have that something as well and then the conflict begins. The man's unbelievable continual participation in these follies is supposed to be a sign that he is a man on the edge but it is more of a sign that this plot is unrealistic and idiotic to boot. Anyone else would just turn heel and go home- take their business elsewhere.

At various moments during the movie you will be wondering why the man doesn't just go home and cut his losses- this is the failure of the plot. If it was any good we wouldn't be continually groaning - oh god.. just GO HOME! The movie seems like it has some sort of retarded message about how revenge just injures yourself and they are willing to bend the plot in unrealistic directions to try and get that point across.

Extremely unsatisfying and not on par with Snatch, Lock stock and two Smoking barrels or trainspotting- don't let anyone fool you into thinking this play on film is worth seeing- it's a piece of boring one-set crap.

British crime movies are hardly a rarity in this day and age, but "Sugarhouse" stands head and shoulders above 95% of the other releases in the genre. On the surface, it's a remarkably simple movie about two troubled men and the problems that arise when one tries to sell a gun to the other.

Both Stephen Mackintosh and Ashley Walters deliver incredible performances as the two men, and are supported by an equally impressive offering by Andy Serkis as 'Hoodwink', the local drug-lord who was the original owner of the stolen weapon. Serkis oozes menace whenever he's on-screen, and his sudden bursts of violence are frightening to behold.

The writer deserves an equal share of the credit. I've lived in London for several years and can confirm that the terms and slang used by the characters are authentic. Secondly, the story is well written and keeps the interest throughout; a palpable feeling of tension and dread growing as the situation grows steadily worse. If there's any complaint to be made, it's most likely that the story could have found a more comfortable place on the stage than the screen due to the minimal number of locations used (most of the action takes place within one warehouse) and the long (but always interesting) conversations between characters.

I wasn't sure whether I'd enjoy watching "Sugarhouse" due to my overexposure to British crime movies, but i'm glad that I did. It was one of the better movies I've seen recently and surprised me in how well-made it was. Long after the eerie final scene, i find myself thinking back to those two broken men who met at a crucial point in both of their lives and subsequently changed each other - for better or for worse.

If you're a fan of serious crime movies such as "Reservoir Dogs" of "The Long Good Friday", it would be well worth your time to take a look at "Sugarhouse".

Filmed on a relative microbudget, I was surprised this film was chosen by Slingshot as their first project, as the script really doesn't hold water and some clumsy dialogue really grates on the nerves.

As far as British films go I suppose it could have been a lot worse, and while I really didn't enjoy it the performances pull it through, right before it gets plain silly. In terms of the negative feedback that it's racked up here, most I agree with, however complaining that this film is awful because it's "like watching a play" is one of the most idiotic comments I've ever read, you're really telling us more about yourself then the film! It was based on a play which is usually no bad thing (have a look at The Big Kahuna for a good example of a one-set movie)