A Great Modern British Crime Comedy.

Rating: 9/10 (11 July 2009)

I had just about given up on our own industry by the 1990's. Even when substantially British productions came on stream they were invariably funded by Hollywood and stuffed with their actors, accents and cultural mores.
What a refreshing change, then, with 'Lock Stock etc'. Here is a cast of British actors, giving full-tilt to an obviously British script and the whole thing set in seedy London locations (not many, actually). And it's a cracker! There's the sort of who's-who latter-day hard case ensemble not seen for a generation. It's like 'Sweeney' meets 'The Lady Killers'. Comedy is everywhere, but in that subtle, understated, way so typical of our British style. I don't mean to knock American comedy, because when it's good it's top-drawer. But it does tend to be just a little too predictable for our own cultural tastes. Monty Python could never have happened in The States.
It's a great case of crossed-up crime capers. A young gang of chancers find themselves owing money big-time to a ruthless old racketeer. From that point on its a hilarious battle of wits, with a massacre or two that probably owe homage to Tarantino, but not much.
The dialogue is heavily laden with Cockney rhyming slang to an extent I have never heard even though I worked for years with full-blooded, Bow-belled, natives. There's also a good smattering of British 'street' jargon, which is subtly different from anything to come from the Bronx. Foreigners (Yanks) who experience lingual difficulties should use the subtitles.
Production levels are extremely economical. Most of the 'location' work seems to have been taken in Park Street SE1, just where it branches from the Borough Market under the railway bridge. The place has always looked as decrepit as it appears in the movie - and still does. Though it's gradually getting 'yuppiefied' as I write. This absence of cityscape makes it a slightly claustrophobic experience, but the great script and excellent dialogue, plus the rabid bursts of action compensate for this. An American production would almost certainly feature a helicopter overflight with glittering office-blocks. This movie is so painstakingly minimalist that it's almost a poke in the eye at Hollywood excess.
'Lock, Stock etc' is a first-rate comedy crime thriller, as counter-culturally suave as 'Ocean's Eleven', but funnier, grittier, and more ironic. And created for a fraction of the price. Go for the 'Director's Cut' version if you can find it. The 107 minute standard release is a little too chopped in its editing. The longer version provides just enough infil to make presentation seamless without interfering with the excellent camera and cutting work. My 9 stars are for the longer version.
Highly recommended.