Face – Review

As Ray (Carlyle) and Dave (Winstone) drive in their blue Ford Mondero, they both have long stares. Finally, they pull up to their destination and park, meeting Weasel (Sweeney) who dishes them some info on a man upstairs, number 37, 2^nd floor.

The men stroll up the stairs and find the desired door, readying themselves. They have done this kind of work before, and seem confident. Knocking on the door, they give the inhabitant some bullshit which gets the opening ajar. Dave grabs the man inside and tackles him in the living room, demanding cash. Ray slowly strolls through the apartment looking for other contraband, and finding drugs. Our ruthless criminals appear to have scored.

Later, Ray meets his fine lady Connie (Headey), who herself works at a large orphanage home which is to be closed soon. He can’t be bothered too much with this, as he has to meet Stevie (Waddington), another criminal pal, and pick up Dave again, who is saddled with his own family issues. As they scoop up Julian (Davis), the five-man crew is complete. So, what are these hoodlums up to today? Probably something wild and crazy, since they are always in need of large cash sums.

Face gives the viewer a look at London during tension and political chaos of the 90s, and delivers a decent crime thriller with a strong cast. Career criminals are often interesting characters, but you may not really like them as people. This film is middle ground on that level, as the script gives them some decent lines and attempts to humanize them a bit, but overall, they are low on morals.

The direction is serviceable even if a bit by the numbers, but the script didn’t call for anything too flashy or extravagant either, so the grittier presentation was fine. The cast is a strength, and the performances from everyone are satisfying. The script features a few nice inclusions but also has some by the numbers moments. When all said and done, Face is a solid crime thriller that did not get much of an audience in the U.S., but should be seen by those that like bank heist type flicks.