Face (1997)Who directed it?
Antonia Bird, the former resident director of the Royal Court Theatre, and the woman who gave us the BAFTA-winning TV drama Safe (1993). A prolific producer and director whose work took her from EastEnders (1985) to Hollywood, her films were naturalistic, but shot with the momentum of thrillers. 1994’s Priest saw a Catholic clergyman (Linus Roache) battling his homosexuality, while The Hamburg Cell (2004) tracked the 9/11 hijackers on their journey from students to murderous radicals.
Who’s in it?
In demand after his terrifying performances in Cracker (1993) and Trainspotting (1995), Robert Carlyle pulls off a mostly credible East End accent as Ray, a lapsed socialist turned stick-up man. Ray Winstone is Dave, his seasoned accomplice; Steven Waddington is Ray’s clingy ex-cellmate; Lena Headey of Dredd (2012) is our hero’s activist girlfriend, and his only shot at salvation.
What’s it about?
With a little help from the psychotic Julian (Philip Davis), Ray and his mates plan to ram-raid a Hounslow cash depot. When their multi-million haul turns out to be a paltry £68k each, the hoods realise they’ve been double-crossed, and find their loyalties dismantled.
Where did the idea come from?
Written by Ronan Bennett (whose 2011 crime saga Top Boy impressed rapper Drake so much that he financed its resurrection), Face’s heist no doubt took cues from the 1983 Brink’s-Mat robbery. But the film’s mugshot-style poster art and concept of bickering robbers indicate Reservoir Dogs (1992) as a strong influence.
So it’s a London geezer/gangster flick?
Released a year before Guy Ritchie’s more pantomime-y Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998), Face set out to be a credible look at London’s underbelly, exploring the trickle-down effect of crime in the vein of The Long Good Friday (1980). The closest it comes to giggles is the in-joke of casting Peter Vaughan – better known as Grouty from Porridge (1974) – as an elderly crime boss.
What’s going on visually?
Cinematographer Fred Tammes shoots an eerily quiet Piccadilly Circus – it’s not quite 28 Days Later (2002), but it’s close. Livelier moments suggest that Ray’s robberies are not about the loot, but the sheer buzz: Bird uses intercuts to imply that the rush he once got from the picket line has been replaced by “doing jobs”. Other background details – crates labelled ‘Demo leaflets’, or the ‘End low pay’ flyers that float past in tracking shots – have all the subtlety of Acme dynamite.
What about the outfits?
The heist is conducted in garish yellow boiler suits, 11 years before the same look was utilised in Breaking Bad (2008). Ray’s off-duty attire never changes, with his white shirt, dark suit and lack of tie undoubtedly borrowed from Robert De Niro’s character in Heat (1995). They’re both meticulous criminals who can blend in anywhere.
What’s the music like?
Face takes its soundtrack seriously, so much so that it casts Blur frontman Damon Albarn in his first acting role. The film’s songs are a mix of Britpop, big beat and some nuanced rock choices, with a recurring joke seeing the robbers play an £800 name-that-tune radio quiz.
Were all British crime films like this at the time?
Face was a departure among other 90s London lawbreakers: its contemporaries included the more cartoonish Shooting Fish (1997) and the gothic Captives (1994). It remains the only East End drama to have dressed Ray Winstone in a Doctor Who t-shirt.
Was it ahead of its time?
Given the 2008 financial crisis, the film’s digs at capitalism would prove appropriate. The thieves’ haul is depicted as an update on Treasure Island’s black spot, dooming anyone who touches it. Ray certainly makes for a progressive gangster: when he’s not pointing guns, he’s either professing his love to girlfriend Connie or begging his mum (Sue Johnston) if he can borrow her car.
Why does it look familiar?
The ‘lovelorn crook’ angle will ring a bell for fans of Sexy Beast (2000), and current affairs buffs may recognise a cameo from Guildford Four member Gerry Conlon: the subject of 1993’s In the Name of the Father, in which he was played by Daniel Day-Lewis.
What should I watch next?
If you want more Robert Carlyle and Antonia Bird, tuck into dark cannibalism comedy Ravenous (1999). For a more graphic depiction of what trying to be a career criminal does to the psyche of London hoodlums, brace yourself for Gangster No. 1 (2000).