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.
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.