User reviews

That might sound FACEtious however, to some extent Carlyle plays a similar sort of character who is unable to hold down a regular job. (Carlyle always has a look of total anxiety, as if he just opened up a tax audit it from the Inland Revenue). He is believable as Ray a gun welding crook , not a phyco path, but a former lefty who got fed up supporting fringe left-wing causes with nothing to show for it. He decides to earn a living the old fashioned way — 'by stealing it'! Ray struggles to balance a relationship with his mother, girlfriend as well as being troubled by his conscience about what he does. He does not particularly enjoy doing what he does and often wonders if it's worth it baring in mind he has done time in prison.

It has the typical big robbery near the beginning where they have just two minutes to get in and out of the security complex, the obligatory 'have a go hero' guard who gets pistol whipped and then the escape. Much to the despair of the gang although they get a reasonable amount of cash by the time they take out expenses and split it 5 ways there not a lot to show for it. Was their poultry whack worth the risk for a 15 year stretch?

To make matters worse and more complicated the tables are turned when the money is actually stolen from the gang, presumably by somebody who knows the routine and the gangs movements. Everybody suspects everybody else and Ray desperately tries to hold the gang together despite finger pointing, blame as well as trying to evade the police who are on to them. The next part of the film unfolds around betrayal, double crossing, desperation, evading capture and greed.

The cast is good, Ray Winston does his usual, Damien Albarn tries to look tough, the weaselly nutter played by Philip Davis is entertaining and Steve Waddington plays a heavy that loves comics and is totally dependent on Ray for guidance . It's also good to see British veteran character Peter Vaughan no stranger to playing a crook , plus longtime downtrodden Brookside housewife Sue Johnson still rallying to left wing cause as Rays weary but devoted mum.

Apart from the robbery there is a couple of big shoot outs, tension, a mystery, treachery and a couple of odd twists which keep up your interest. The conclusion of the movie is probably well balanced in the end most of the unlikable characters get what's coming to them! Despite possible flaws the cast certainly hold the movie together and it's well worth a watch!

(Note: the greasy Irish junkie at the beginning was played by none other Gerry Conlon former Guildford bombing suspect whose conviction was quashed a number of years ago.)

This excellent movie was an undeserved flop on release. It's hard to understand why, since it has quite a broad appeal, with a likeable cast, some terrific action sequences and a plot which twists and turns until the final reel. It's also, like The Long Good Friday, a movie with serious political undertones. Rent it, see it, make some noise about it, so that this film isn't forgotten, because I look forward to the day it gets the attention it deserves.

This is one of the best British Gangster movies of all time! Sadly overlooked. Robert Carlyle is brilliant and authentic in his delivery as a gang leader with a conscience. Like 'Clockers' this is a movie that makes you think. This is not just a gangster/robbery movie. It looks into the lives of each character and their interaction with society and each other. It looks at trust and conscience. The dialog is the best I have heard in this sort of movie and very real. Brilliant performances from all! Great story and ending. Why this was not promoted properly at the time I don't know. Its better than the middle class made Lock Stock, and on a par with The Long Good Friday. Watch and enjoy.

Face is among the subgenre of movies that can still blindside me with severe mediocrity. There are intermittent times when I simply cannot resist a cheeky gangster flick, and Face is one of the candygrams that blows up in your face. There's nothing inherently wrong with the story except that it has been used more times than a hooker's hanky, the basic premise anyway.

The film begins with Robert Carlyle and Ray Winstone, two of England's great screen badasses, breaking into a drug dealer's apartment, posing as police officers in order to raid his cash and his stash. The next scene begins the unfolding of the mainline of the plot, a bank robbery. And they have their logistics man, Robert Carlyle's old friend from prison, et cetera. Then the third event in the film is the inevitable betrayal within the heist crew. And of course there's Carlyle's nagging, guilt-laying girlfriend. I've always wondered what else will happen in a crime film whenever the story's pivotal heist occurs in the first twenty minutes other than betrayals and nagging token female characters. These filmmakers don't seem to have shared my curiosity.

Aside from a small portion of time given to Carlyle's backstory as a war protester, Face is just another recycled crime flick for teenagers telling the age-old tale of a group of violent criminals and what happens to them after they steal a lot of money. It even employs another thriller gimmick: It's set over the course of 48 hours in and around the city, in this case London. What director Antonia Bird, who did later direct a decent Robert Carlyle movie called Ravenous, tries to do is gloss the film with grunge, badassery and style as a substitute for expanding on what she pulled off the assembly line, one of the results of this choice being a soundtrack that is unusually bad for an English gangster film.

I'm sure I'm not being fair enough to this movie. There are several assembly line movies that are entertaining enough, but frankly I don't feel that requires an explanation that differentiates between this and them. To me, if you're making an insincere movie, the audience has the right to be subjective. Whether one considers it a good movie or not is now pure luck. With Face, I was bored and cynical. If it were on TV on a lazy day or when I need to kill a little time, I might stay for a few minutes of the shootout in the street (in which you can briefly hear an unmistakable soundbite of Tim Roth's wailing early in Reservoir Dogs), or for one good if very brief scene, where Carlyle is comforted by Winstone by hugging him when he's crying.

This British crime film has got superb casting: every single performace is rock-solid and Robert Carlyle absolutely shines. Cast also includes an extra-terrestrially beautiful lady, Lena Headey. And the storyline is flawless -- full of interesting characters, believable enough, and deliciously crooked but free of annoying twists for twists' sake.

Yet, somehow, the movie never quite reaches brilliance, but falls into the "quite nice" category instead. Directing and cinematography is a bit too conservative; a few original tricks (just a hint of artistic touch, some surprising angles, tinted scenes or anything at all) could have spiced the movie just enough to make it more memorable. And although the music in the action parts is appropriate, the clichéd saccharine sound squandering backing the more romantic moments is dismaying. This would have been a much better movie already if those sequences would have been void of music.

So it is not a masterpiece despite the potential, but I liked it a lot nonetheless. Recommended to all who have an affinity for British quality movies. (7.5/10)

This is one of those unusual films where the actors all did their parts quite well and convincingly, however, the film itself seemed to be lacking something. I am sorry to say that part of the issue is with the editing.

I don't mind edits that tend to jump between past and present, but there just wasn't enough to demonstrate why Ray the alleged former socilist had turned to a life of crime. Therefore the jump-cut references fail to make the connection between his memory of a fateful protest in his youth and the man he was today.

The acting was brilliant, and each artist did a superb job, which is why I give it a 7. You could see that perhaps the writer had intended a more meaningful story, but some of it must have ended up on the cutting room floor.

A proper violent, gritty English gangster film with a fantastic cast. Amazing film!

"Face" is a gritty, bloody, visceral tale of a motley crew of professional robbers led by Carlyle and what happens when someone systematically steals their ill gotten gains. Carlyle and others deliver powerful performances in this drab, bleak action/drama about treachery, larceny, retribution, and the disintegration of a gang of thieves. Save a few plot holes, "Face" manages solid entertainment for those who can overlook the fact that the protagonist/hero is a thief and a killer.

An ultimately disappointing movie. A messy plot fails to convince as does Robert Carlyle's weak Cockney accent. The police station shoot-out finale borders on the farcical. Any sense of gritty gangland realism which is portrayed earlier in the film goes completely out the window with this scene. The one saving grace of this movie is another excellent performance by Ray Winstone as Dave. An impressive soundtrack,however, merely serves to confirm a distinct feeling of style-over-content.

Believe it or not, Britain did make decent gangster films prior to Guy Ritchie's arrival with 'Lock Stock' style of film-making. And, one of those that has and probably always will be eclipsed by Ritchie's way of film-making will be 'Face.' And that's slightly surprising as it has two – reasonably – big names in British cinema in the lead roles – Robert Carlyle and Ray Winstone.

Perhaps one of its 'flaws' (and I put that word in quotes because, personally, I don't consider it a flaw) is the way it's directed. It's hardly an exercise in style. Ritchie's 'Lock Stock' films were that rare breed that seamlessly blended style AND substance. Well, Face does have the substance to be a great film, it just doesn't have the style.

It feels a bit like a 'made-for-TV' movie (perhaps because it was made by the BBC?) with its *slightly* bland style of direction. There's no snappy montages or cracking tunes to heighten the mood and atmosphere. This is probably why it never really appealed to the masses.

It's about a bank robbery gone wrong (yes, I know that brief summary also sums up Reservoir Dogs, but, trust me, it's nothing like that). The criminals get away with the loot, but someone wants it all and are prepared to use – lethal – force to get it.

Okay, so it doesn't have the style of Lock Stock or the instant cool of a Tarrantino movie, but it is a good little number in its own right. If you're into your gangster films and aren't looking for something 'uber-cool' then you could do worse than watch this one.

You'll probably find it on TV late at night, or as part of a TV/Movie streaming service. If so, it's definitely worth a watch.

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Having seen FACE makes you wonder how badly written a script must be for it to be turned down for funding and produced scripts don`t come much worse than Ronan Bennett`s FACE . First of all what`s with the politics ? Ray used to be a commie ? Fair enough , if you can`t be a communist when you`re young when can you be one ? But this has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with either the plot or character development . The characters discuss the plight of the Kurds but this leads absolutely nowhere , and it should also be pointed out not all Kurdish groups are alligned to ultra left wing politics either ( Anyone heard of Ansar Al Islam ? ) so Bennett`s made a double blunder on that front . Secondly there`s incidents which like the politics just seem to be included for the sake of it . Remember the firefight of BLACK HAWK DOWN ? Well we see a couple of similar gun battles here . That`s right a British crime thriller emulates the battle of Mogadishu , oh and there`s a bizarre scene of the bad guys opening the boot of their car to let out one of their collegues - who`s been tied up ! - in the middle of a crowded street !! - while the police are searching for them !!! . Finally I wish to apologise if I used the word "Characters " in this review since this may give the impression Bennett has written characters - He hasnt . He`s written cyphers to speak lines and push the plot along . Take Stevie for example who`s written as an idiotic comic book geek but still beats people up when the script demands it

Director Antonia Bird manages to rise above the script which when you stop to consider how bad the script is doesn`t come across as much of a compliment - That`s because it`s not supposed to be much of a compliment . Bird too hits us over the head with politics like having buildings covered in political graffiti and anti racist posters . Did I mention there`s no political subtext in this film ? because the director seems to think there might be , and despite enjoying the Britpop soundtrack there`s no real context for having all these songs included . If I remember correctly this was a problem with Bird`s later film RAVENOUS of having a jarring soundtrack and it should be pointed out that often the music drowns out the dialogue which is difficult to make out in the first place due to poor soundmixing

It`s difficult to believe after reading this review but I awarded FACE six out of ten mainly due to the cast doing such a great job . Carlyle`s accent is faultless , Phil Davis plays Julian ( Strange name for a psychotic nutter Mr Bennett ? ) with infectious glee and how many other movies have you seen Ray Winstone get into a shoot out while wearing a Dalek T-shirt ?

Carlyle at his best, great script and a fantastic cast. I would strongly recommend anyone who has not seen this film as yet to get it immediately. British cinema is finally starting to move away from romantic comedies and period pieces, and showing that they can make excellent films on small budgets. Another must see, is Lock, Stock and two Smoking Barrels.

What a big dissapointment this movie was.... First of all I liked all the actors : Robert Carlyle, Ray Winstone, Gerry Conlon and it was definitely interesting to see Blursinger Damon Albarn as actor too and secondly I normally like British movies a lot... But everything is destroyed by director Antonio Bird (famous for "Priest") as this scenario is suffocating... All you get are nice dialogues but it's just like some scenes that are thrown into one movie and due to this you never feel any affection with the play, what you see is what you get but normally I wanna identify myself with the actors when I see British movies, this was more like "Heat" with a very low budget.

"Face" was not a bad movie. The story was involving and the caper was exciting but the setting was pretty grim and the movie was rather violent. The robbers were audacious and the plot took some unexpected, entertaining twists. It seems that English movies, if not portraying the upper classes, portray a depressive squalor. It all seems so wet and dirty and everyone chain smokes. Maybe American movies portray our not-upper classes as louts wearing black leather and stubble also. The tough guy look of American movies has become cliched. Wouldn't you like to see a crime movie where the bad guy is not walking around dressed as "the bad guy". Why not a neon arrow pointing him out. If you were a bad guy would you wear the required black leather coat, not shave and smoke incessantly. There is a concept of being inconspicuous. Maybe if you contrast that to the good guy wearing a $4000 suit and driving a $50K car while working a $30K police job it doesn't seem so bad. I guess a bit of fantasy is required to enjoy this drivel.

Robert Carlyle & Ray Winstone head a fine cast in Antonia Bird`s gangster film. This is quite Violent, with few surprises. non-the-less I enjoyed it with a few objections' The most glaring one was due to the accents,many lines were hard too understand ' The other was my usual on on the song score. A few too many for my taste. rating of ***

as always

jay harris

This is one of those 90's films that is currently flying under the radar in terms of UK gangster movies. The ultra generic title isn't helping either in terms of making this stand out in your mind.

Robert Carlisle plays a gangster, again, along with Ray Winston, who are part of a team who commit a robbery where the takings are far less than expected. But that is just the start of their problems as it appears there is a traitor in their midst.

While this is an average movie there are some things that stop it being a good one. The first is this background story that Carlisle was once a socialist, this adds literally nothing to the plot apart from flashbacks, of which there are a few, to some political protest which turns violent. Something that was likely to pique viewers interest was the inclusion of Damon Albarn from Blur which along with the soundtrack is the most 90's thing about this film. In terms of the soundtrack it doesn't add much nor are any of the tracks memorable, despite many of the names being recognisable. I couldn't call this a hidden gem, its simply an average UK gangster film with a good/novelty cast and a decent storyline. Its watchable, but its likely that nobody remembers it from the time as it wasn't good enough to stick in your mind. The ending was somewhat predictable and despite this being a gangster film there are no scenes were we actually see anyone being shot to death, despite the high bullet count. Certainly an unusual angle for this genre. Blur fans may also be disappointed in the short screen time Damon has. Decent enough just not great.

This has got to be one the very best of British mob movies. Excellent direction, Robert Carlyle is at his very best, the same as Ray Winstone and Philip Davis. This is a film I could watch a lot more than once. Totally brilliant and British totally enjoyable.

This is a slightly schizo movie....with excellent elements, and then some seemingly randomly inserted flashbacks apropos nothing!! The acting is great, if slightly stereotypical of genre...think Lock Stock... but hugely entertaining. The soundtrack is excellent, reminiscent of a decade, and full of portent....very clever.

And then we have the flashbacks!!! At times it seemed as if there was two directors pulling the movie in different directions, or as another reviewer suggested, that it was edited to death. In either case, I think the movie survived the mauling, and comes through, slightly disheveled, but watchable...

I just recently saw that Damon Albarn was in this movie and decided to order it, considering I wasn't able to find it to rent anywhere. It was fairly good, although I'm not one for crime movies or anything of the like. The only real reason I wanted to see it was because of Damon Albarn being in it, who I thought, regardless of how long he was in it, was brilliant as always. I liked the movie fair enough to at least watch it again.

This movie shows why the British are so much better at making moody pictures than a lot of Americans. This tale of 5 associates in crime pulling a bank heist only to find that afterward they are betrayed by someone and have their loot stolen is so bare-to-the-bones that it scared me sometimes. The underworld of London was portrayed brilliantly through the excellent acting achievements of the cast alround (even Damon Albarn of popgroup Blur was good enough as first-timer Jason). Robert Carlyle proved once again that his talent is so far beyond a lot of people in this business. His role of the disillusioned socialist Ray was played to perfection. The story was interesting enough to keep me nailed to my seat until the end, the plottwists were well paced.

The only trouble I had with this movie, and I think a lot of people with me, was that this movie was sometimes unintelligible due to the accents of the players. Without subtitles it can be a hell of a chore for some people to keep track of the story. But this is probably something we have to live with (the same happened with movies like The Hill and The Full Monty).

Overall a great picture.

9/10

One of the common barbs hurled in the direction of this movie is that it cribs from a very successful British gangster movie that only appeared 12 months later (Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels from 1998) Notwithstanding this crass dissimilitude, how many female directors has there been on a gangster movie?

Judged on that basis, Face would fail any serious test of its credentials but it's NOT really a gangster movie i.e. This is, I suspect at heart a rather botched attempt at a social critique of the UK circa the 80's. It purports to equate Thatcher's 'greed for all' manifesto as interpreted by a poorly educated working class demographic who supplant 'entrepreneurial zeal' with 'stealing other's ill gotten gains'. The fact that the vast majority of this social strata chose to NOT steal, NOT intimidate and NOT defraud is clearly lost on the director. The script often betrays Bird's misguided idealism as being more than a tad wet behind the ears e.g. Young and beautiful left wing activist (Lena Headey) knowingly dates an ex Communist now armed robber (Robert Carlyle) in the risibly gauche belief that he is 'better than his accomplices' and will leave them behind for a morally upright future. The humour is uniformly lame and merely renders the violence as inconsequential (the unwitting coup de grace for any moralistic agenda) Ray Winstone and Robert Carlyle are worth anyone's time even on inferior material such as this but the political and the personal just get hopelessly muddled here. Damon Albarn appears as the young hoodlum Jason. He sucks hugely and get's shot in the head early on. Even his portrayal of a blood splattered cadaver is unconvincing.

What a waste of a good cast. What was the writer/director trying to do here? I can only assume that the exploding police car shoot out was grafted on to give some USA appeal, as was the appallingly contrived police station shoot out. So out of the window with gritty realism (these things don't happen in Ulster let alone in London). I really wanted to like this, but all the actors looked confused about their characters motives, except "Julian" who just went for all out crazy. The plot could have worked, but not with this direction. Even the title had a tenuous link to the film ("You used to be a Face" whatever that means. Must get my cockney gangster dictionary out, guvnor.) Individual scenes stood out as thrilling, but in general, the plot tried to make a dignified exit, but tripped over the doormat. I am surprised at the IMBD rating - a definite 5/10 of a film.