44 Inch Chest [Blu-ray] [2009] [US Import]

There are movies that offer some of the best storytelling the world has seen. And then there are movies that offer perhaps not the best stories but something else that has great value. Such is the case here with 44 INCH CHEST, a movie that offers some of the finest acting seen on screen in some time. It shares two things in common with GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS: great acting to be seen and the foulest language the English vocabulary has to offer.

The story begins with Colin (Ray Winstone) lying on the floor of his home surrounded by the shattered possessions he owns. No, Colin hasn't been robbed or mugged. He's just been told by his wife Liz (Joanne Whalley) that she's leaving him for another man.

Distraught and not knowing what to do, the film jumps back and forth in time and space and we next have Colin's friend Archie (Tom Wilkinson) show up to help him. Archie contacts Colin's best friends and together they kidnap the young lover, a Frenchman who works as a waiter.

The largest part of the movie takes place in what appears to be a soon to be demolished flat. The flat has little more than a few chairs, a sofa and a wardrobe in the corner. It is inside this wardrobe that they young lover is being held as Colin's friends console him and discuss what to do. Shall Colin kill the victim in an attempt to regain his manhood, or shall he allow him to live and leave?

Each character offers up their own ideas of how to treat the situation but for the most part they all seem to feel that death would be the best option. First in line for this line of thinking is Old Man Peanut (John Hurt) who hurls obscenities at the wardrobe and tells Colin that the best route he can take is to not let this young punk get away with it. Peanut is all for using extreme violence in taking care of this man.

Archie seems to be in the middle. While he eggs on Colin to do the right thing, to do what is right, he never seems over the top in his belief. He wants Colin to kill the man for what he did but never goes to the extremes that Peanut does.

Mal (Steven Dillane) seems to be more interested in getting to the pub and getting on with it all. While he has Colin's back in whatever decision he decides to make, he too seems less confused by it all. His attitude is one of lets kill him and get on with our night.

And then there is Meredith (Ian McShane), the gay man of reason. Meredith talks Colin down from a panic attack in the midst of things and then attempts to reason with Colin about making a choice, win or lose. Meredith has no qualms with taking the life of this man of assisting Colin in doing so. But he tries to make Colin think it through rather than act out of sheer rage. It is through Meredith that the man's life hangs by the toss of a coin.

But at the center of it all lies Colin. As portrayed by Winstone, Colin is a bear of a man prone to violent rages. After being told by Liz of her intentions, he was the one who beat her to the name of the man she was sleeping with. Torn by his love for Liz and his hatred for the man who took her away from him, Colin is a more complex character than one would believe.

Colin is wrestles not so much with the idea of killing a man as he does with why has this happened and what should he do about it. From mannerisms and discussion among this group of friends, one can easily assume that they've killed before. The group takes on the appearance of a criminal gang that has put most of their illegal activities in the past. It's never stated that way but something about them all rings of it. They all seem like they would have fit right in with the characters in THE LONG GOOD FRIDAY.

As Colin struggles with what to do the tension mounts. Will he or will he not destroy this man? Not only that but will it be brutal or a straight simple killing? Either answer could happen by the end of the film. But it's the acting demonstrated by all involved that is a marvel to watch.

And not just one actor in particular but each and every one of them. Perhaps the most compelling one of the bunch is McShane as Meredith. While calm and cool throughout, he seems to be the most dangerous. Sure, Colin is the brute force that can take out a man with ease, but Meredith has that cold detachment that a killer would have giving him the ability to do so without the tugs of a conscience to get to him later.

This movie is fascinating to watch. It never once made me look at the clock to see if it was over. And the photography is stunning even with little to be seen and few sets to use. But at its heart it's the acting that rules here.

If you're easily offended by strong language then this movie may not be your cup of tea. And while the topic of violence would lend one to believe it is quite brutal here, it's actually rarely seen. But if you're looking for something different that has plenty of bite, then you may want to give this one a look.

3.5 stars

When will Ian McShane get the perfect starring role he so clearly deserves? His turn in Kings was very fine but Deadwood is about the only thing that has really made full use of his deep well of talent. He is by far and away the highlight of 44 Inch Chest, but is as usual in a supporting role. Without him, this movie would just be a nasty, blustery shamble.

The plot is basic enough: a guy's wife cheats on him so he and his pals kidnap her paramour and hole up in an abandoned warehouse (or something; we're never told why they can do as they please there with no people ever around in the streets), deciding whether to kill him, or wot. There's plenty of f's to go around, more than plenty in fact, and lots of brogue and bluster as well. But there wasn't enough truly sparkling dialogue for my taste (or for a film this non-stop talky), and I got bored an hour in.

Each actor is fair enough, though John Hurt's hammy staginess is a lowlight. But
blame the script: it's a little too self-satisfied yet empty in the long run. Plenty of pseudo-philosophical rambling about the sanctity of marriage etc, and insinuations that all men are frustrated would-be killers, but after a while it all goes nowhere fast and I began longing for something, anything, to relieve the onsetting boredom of watching the cuckold simmer in his own sour juices.

Fortunately someone had the wisdom to cast McShane, who walks away with this film as is usual when he appears in anything. His stolid self-assurance and ironic eye, cast askance upon the world, plus that deep stentorian rumble grafted onto a character bound to become a gay icon, add up to a thoroughly captivating performance that could easily grab a supporting Oscar but of course won't, this being a Brit film after all.

It's funny: watching McShane, you realize that a truly great actor can take most any line and make it seem brilliant. Which leaves the rest of this cast out in the cold, as none of them did much for me. All competent, but none memorable. The weirdly whiny script, perhaps meant to show how much marriage really means to guys (?) but actually showing what a bunch of tossers this lot is, does them no favors, and in the end 44 feels like a weakly filmed stage play with too much pondering and not enough cinematic brilliance.

All in all, worth watching for McShane, but a rather unpleasant and boring film once all is said (lots and lots) and done (precious little).

Second great lines - Winstone: "I feel lost. I don't know where I am." Dillane: "I've been there." Howlingly funny for the first half...falters and dies thereafter. Darn. I wanted it to be great all the way through, but there it is. It turns stagey and stodgy after a gripping, hilarious start. All the actors are great, though. Winstone is a debauched thug and crybaby; Hurt is a disgusting, criminal geezer; Wilkinson is a degenerate mama's boy (how does he know his mother rolled out of bed onto the floor unless he was sleeping with her?); Dillane is a fading sleaze who's too stupid to be the insouciant, louche charmer he's trying to be, and McShane is beyond brilliant as an arrogant, unrepentant homosexual who fancies himself far above his "pals." I could stare at the screen with these guys on it for days, but it just doesn't live up to its original glory. Still, those two bits of dialogue were worth it.