Face

Robert Carlyle - Ray
Ray Winstone - Dave
Philip Davis - Julian
Steve Sweeney - Weasel
Damon Albarn - Jason
Steven Waddington - Stevie
Peter Vaughan - Sonny
Lena Headey - Connie
Gerry Conlon - Vince
Sue Johnston - Alice

Directed by Antonia Bird, Face (underworld slang for a gangster) is a Cockney gangster yarn reminiscent of The Long Good Friday - containing a similar black tone, but any weaknesses are largely offset by strong cast and a script that's more than just a collection of four-letter words.

Loosely based on a tale by Belfast-born writer Ronan Bennett published in the anthology London Short Stories, the script follows five hoods of various vintages pre- and post-heist. Closest bound are Ray (Robert Carlyle), a onetime political idealist turned hard-nosed gangster, and Dave (Ray Winstone), an older, more traditional East End villain. First seen strong-arming some cash out of a guy (Irish politician Gerry Conlon, cameoing), the pair have in mind a major hold-up that will set them up for some time - robbing a West London security firm. Also in the group is the simpleminded Stevie (Steven Waddington), a former cellmate of Ray; Jason (Damon Albarn), nephew of ageing gangster Sonny (Peter Vaughan); and Julian (Philip Davis), a seriously crazed psychopath who has ambitions beyond hold-ups.

In a pacey, adrenaline-drenched sequence, the team raids the security firm's depot. But back at their warehouse hideout things soon start to fracture: The haul is less than expected, a long way short of a retirement fund, and Julian tries (unsuccessfully) to increase his cut at gunpoint. It's also soon clear that there is a traitor in the group. Dave arrives at Ray's place bleeding from an attack and saying his share was stolen, and Ray and Stevie's cuts have also disappeared. When the traitor is finally unmasked, the trail to the missing loot leads, of all places, to a police station, where the remaining members of the gang attempt their riskiest heist of all.

Though the movie trades on the same tough, Cockney gangland atmosphere of Villain and The Long Good Friday, there's a highly tempo edge to Face in the breakdown of traditional East End hoodlum codes and the emergence of a new generation with no ideals. Ray's background as a political idealist is thinly sketched and never rings true; better is the gruff irony of the older Dave and Julian, who mourn the passing of the old ways in one breath as they calmly blow or beat a fellow human.

The film never stands still for long, and hardly has time to pay more than lip service to some of its supporting characters. (Vanghan's wily old gangster and Lena Headey's girlfriend of Ray are among the casualties here.) Ellipses in the script also leave some characters unexplained. But sustaining the movie through all its changes of tone is Bennett's dialogue, with its strain of dry, London working-class humour, and the playing of the leads.

The linguistic chameleon Carlyle (actually a Scot), here slips into perfect Cockney tones and mannerisms as the cynical, money-driven Ray, in a way that's both confident and attention-grabbing. Lower-key, but exactly catching the menace behind the East End, is Winstone, coming through strongly in the second half is Davis as the mad but often very funny Julian. Waddington is also notable in the quirky role of Ray's dippy buddy Stevie. Albarn (vocalist with pop group Blur), has an almost nothing part, and the women - including the talented Headey - hardly register in the films male universe. The upbeat finale, in which Headey figures, feels forced as a result.

Though the movie sometimes has a TV look, tech credits are good on a dearly tight budget, copious music adds pace and atmosphere, and editing is tight. London accents, though flavoursome, will present few problems, in part due to the clear soundtrack, which never favours effects over dialogue.
Derek Elley