As brutal as the Kray twins - but funnier

Rating: 9/10 (8 September 1998)

If you like your comedy 'au-lait' as opposed to black, then this is not the film for you. A hard-nosed graphic depiction of the London east-end, the film starts as your basic gangster/loan shark movie. But once it gets going the pace, action, characters and comedy don't stop until the last minute of the film. I was exhausted.
The characters are excellent - even the two slightly over-the-top scousers seem to be realistic in this almost caricature world. Some of the situations verge on the surreal - but still fit.
The cinematography is excellent, and makes brilliant use of slowed and speeded shots. The scene where the over-confident Eddy realizes he's up the proverbial creek for a EXTREMELY large amount of money had me feeling nearly as queasy as Eddy.
All in all - a great film - plenty of pace, plenty of action, plenty of bodies, and plenty of humour. You think you're one step ahead of the plot, but it leaps away from you continuously.
Go see it.