London (DVD)

 

 

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I found London to be a fantastic film - gritty, intense, dramatic, and raw. It sort of grabs you by the throat and throttles you every so often, never selling itself out for a single minute. The story doesn't give you what you have come to expect, especially in terms of the ending, and I think that's a very encouraging sign for the future of Hollywood in this new century. London has an inner fire that's almost palpable. It's not a film everyone will enjoy, however. Some viewers (especially older ones, I expect) just won't connect with it, and some will be turned away from the language and drug use it depicts. Other will surely find it mesmerizing, so I say don't be afraid to take a chance with this film.

To be honest, I wasn't sure how I would react to this film. Aside from the almost constant drug use among the characters, it's not exactly easy to get all that excited over a story that takes place, for the most part, inside a bathroom. No plot summary can really describe this film, though, as its heart and soul boils down to emotions and characters. London is all about love and the train wreck of a life it can leave in its wake. Some may not think the film makes a great deal of sense, but when has love ever been about making sense or behaving rationally or living happily ever after? This movie is real to the core.

The centerpiece of the story is Syd (Chris Evans), an emotional mess of a fellow who has a seemingly terminal case of love for his ex-girlfriend London (Jessica Biel). He's just not capable of dealing with his loss, as therapy, cocaine, and booze just aren't doing the trick. When he finds out that London is leaving the country to move in with some guy in L.A. and that he wasn't even invited to her going-away party, he really starts coming unglued. Seeing this as his last chance to talk to London and try to get her back, he decides to show up at the party, anyway. Along the way, he manages to drag Bateman (Jason Statham), his friendly neighborhood coke supplier, along with him. They quickly make their way upstairs to the bathroom, and that is where Syd stays until such time as he can work up the gumption to go down and talk to London. This bathroom, I should mention, is not your conventional bathroom - it's bigger than my first apartment, has plenty of windows with a great view of the city, and seems to be the perfect place for snorting cocaine and seriously hitting the bottle.

As Syd talks (and rants) to Bateman and a couple of female pals over the course of an hour or so, the nature of his relationship with London is revealed, along with some revelations on Bateman's part, as well. The conversation between both of these men is oftentimes rather disgusting, but every part of it demands and deserves your attention. I'm pretty sure Syd had to have been the worst boyfriend ever. He certainly got little sympathy from me, as he's an incredibly needy, jealous, egotistical nuisance who constantly starts arguments over the least little thing - and he can't even bring himself to tell London he loves her. Even putting his obvious drug problem aside, this guy was born with emotional problems. Therefore, I see the film as something of an anti-romance; I certainly wasn't pulling for Syd to win London's heart in the end. Bateman is actually the most compelling character in the film, largely due to a tremendous performance by Jason Statham.

London fully deserves its R rating for gratuitous drug use and strong language. Several of the characters snort cocaine like it's going out of style, but I don't really buy into the notion that the film warns against the allure of such recreational drug use. Obviously, no one wants to be like Syd, but the film certainly doesn't go out of its way to present any negative consequences of drug abuse - I found it pretty ambivalent in this regard, actually.

Basically, what we have here is an uncomfortably honest, edgy, intense film about love and loss and dealing with the emotional trauma these things oftentimes induce. It doesn't march to the drum of conventional Hollywood scripts, it holds nothing back in terms of content, and it eschews anything resembling a storybook ending. To me, it's a truly impressive, relatively undiscovered gem of a motion picture.

Hell. Weird film!! First of all, absolutely every character in this film is the sort of person you'd back away quickly from if you found yourself stuck next to in a party! Absolutely everyone is vile. Even the nicest character played by Jessica Biel is someone you'd never tire of slapping. Jason Statham's character is so awful you actually cheer when you find out about his problem (no give away) as it's less than he deserves. The hideous character played by Chris Evans disappoints because he manages to consume a fatal amount of drugs without having the good grace to actually die! Slowly. In fact I found myself wishing someone would come into the hideous party with a machine gun and do the world a huge favour. So why the 4 stars? Quite simply the acting. I didn't know Jason Statham could act!! Was he really on drugs? Chris Evans is superb, as in fact he always is. Much as I'd like to have killed his character with a blunt letter opener, his last lines, delivered perfectly, did give me a lump in the throat and his scene in the car with Jessica Biel was outstanding. I don't think I could watch it again too quickly but the raw acting talent makes a silk purse out of a pig's ear.

Now I'm a fan of horror's, comedies and typically bad horrors. So it's very rare that i pick up a film that probably isn't going to have any of the above. This film blew me away !!!!! Some of you may read this who have seen the movie and are saying to yourselves " What is this guy on?". I think it has to do with how much you can associate yourself with the characters. If you have ever had you heart broken and it took a while to sort your head out, then this is for you. If you have ever done cocaine and spent that night in one room having deep conversations ( eg. God ) .. then this is definitely for you. Do not !! I repeat .... Do Not !! be put off this film if you're not a big fan of Chris Evans and Jason Statham. This is the best work i have seen either of them do!! ..... enjoy.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Acting at its stage best
The story line is so simple. Two people have split up and have dealt with it the only way they consider they can. Read more

Published 19 months ago by Mr. RD Nairn

5.0 out of 5 stars Loved it
Most of the film is set in a bathroom, sounds boring? think again. Even though I can't sell this movie to you using a few words on Amazon it's just something you have to see. Read more

Published 20 months ago by stacey

2.0 out of 5 stars London
had i known it was all about them stuffing powder up thr nose i wouldnt have bothered, even if it did have Jason Stathen in it.

Published 22 months ago by J. Marshall

3.0 out of 5 stars london
interesting name for a female character. jessica biel, she is an actress alright! would definitely recommend it.

Published on 5 Feb 2010 by V. Gain

5.0 out of 5 stars angels and demons
I have bought quite a number of dvd from yourselfs and the quality has been first class and the delivery has always been before the delivery quoted. Read more

Published on 24 Nov 2009 by Mr. P. J. Crisp

3.0 out of 5 stars films
not one of jason stratham best but as i think hes a pretty good actor i dont mind watching him but vid rather watch tranporter

Published on 30 Jan 2009 by Mrs. Angela Billingham

3.0 out of 5 stars Not bad
A simple tale of two men (Chris Evans and Jason Statham) who meet one night and take large quantity's of drugs in an up market apartment's bathroom, during the leaving party of... Read more

Published on 29 Aug 2008 by chelios1981

4.0 out of 5 stars not bad. check it out.
guy breaks up with girl, girl has a party to say farewell to friends as she moves to pasture's new, guy wants to win her back as his life is now meaningless. Read more

Published on 16 July 2008 by godzilla78

3.0 out of 5 stars Loved then lost
London seems to follow no obvious story line until the end where you discover a new meaning to personal issues. Read more

Published on 17 Sep 2006 by JD

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