Cheap Essex Boys (DVD) (Terry Winsor) Price

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Customer Reviews of Essex Boys

First,the facts.In 1995,the bodies of three men,Pat Tait,Tony Tucker and Colin Rolfe,were found in a Range Rover near the small Essex village of Rettendon.They were suspected Ecstasy dealers,but to this day,no-one knows what happened.Essex Boys is a fictional reconstruction of that incident,but doesn't pass itself off as fact.

The film follows Sean Bean,as Jason Locke,returning from prison to repay debts and ease himself into Southend's lucrative Ecstasy trade.He hires Billy (Charlie Creed-Miles) to drive for him,and Locke's rise and bloody fall are charted through Billy's eyes.

The acting is superb.Bean is frighteningly intense,Creed-Miles is likably naive as Billy and Tom Wilkinson plays a suitably oily John Dyke.Only Alex Kingston comes across as weak,although this is due to the limits of her character.

The film does drag in places,and the ending could have been better thought out,but these problems don't detract from the film as a whole.The main problem,certainly for American audiences,would be with the thick Essex accents.However,much like Scarface,the majority of the dialogue revolves around the word 'f**k' so most people will catch up without a problem.

Bean previously worked with the makers,Terry Winsor and Jeff Pope,on the equally excellent 'Fools Gold',in 1993 and Essex Boys is a good companion.Especially as Bean's character in the earlier film,Mickey MacAvoy,was linked to the 'Rettendon 3' through a gangster called Kenny Noye.Funny,the coincidences you find in the English underworld.

Violent,unsympathetic,dark and intense,Essex Boys is not for the squemish,or those looking for an uplifting experience.Ladies who are used to Bean as the dashing Sharpe will be in for a shock as the mysogenistic Locke is far from the romantic hero they may be used to.For fans of British gangster films,however,it's a must.

Trivia Quiz Question:Billy's character was nicknamed Billy Whizz.Why?

Smart, tough Brit crime bites and stings
After the flash and fire of Lock, Stock..., there were a whole spate of Brit crime flicks (including its empty-headed sequel Snatch). It's a credit to the genre (or sub-genre) that Essex Boys is one of the better entries.

That can be attributed to a very intelligent script, terrific acting (since when have British actors failed to deliver the goods?), and fast-paced directing--all of which speak of a keen understanding of exactly how to craft a thriller that moves the way it should.

Sean Bean is outstanding here as Jason, an ugly-minded thug who's just been let out of the pen. He finds his old mates, after settling a score in an especially violent scene, and together they set about raking in the pounds, primarily from drug dealing. What they don't count on is Jason's wife Lisa who's the toughest and smartest of all. Her plots and counterplots land her squarely in the femme fatale arena and it's a lot of fun to watch Alex Kingston, the actress who portrays her, strut her stuff.

Also on hand are Billy Wiz, the naive driver who's conscripted into service for Jason, Lisa, and Billy's ex-mentor Mr. D., in an especially riveting performance by Tom Wilkinson, who did a great job in the film In the Bedroom.

The ending is very far off from what anyone would expect; the plotting here shows off, as mentioned, just how smart the filmmakers--writer and director both--really are.

A great addition to your crime flick set of films, Essex Boys bites, punches, stings, and packs a wallop. Grab it.

Bleak and gloomy
This film provides a very good look into the underworld of British crime - perhaps too good.

The premise is fairly simple: Jason Locke (played brilliantly by Sean Bean) is a gangster who's just got out of prison, and is mad. He gets more upset when he finds out his 'kingdom' of drugs and crime has been usurped by others during his absence, and vows to get his own back. The violence, mayhem, and double- and triple-crossing that ensues is no doubt quite accurate, but a bit too much for my sensibilities.

This film no doubt does a great job of portraying its subject matter, and even has its sympathetic moments, but I find it lacks the ability to make an emotional connection with the viewer. I have to admit, though I very much enjoy Sean Bean's acting, I was glad to see this grim, gloomy film over.