Scum

Year:  1979

Director:  Alan Clarke

Screenplay:  Roy Minton

Starring:  Ray Winstone, Mick Ford, Julian Ford, John Blundell, Phil Daniels, Ray Burdis, Alrick Riley

Running Time:  97 minutes

Genre:  Drama

Three teenage boys arrive at a British "borstal" (a type of youth detention centre):  Carlin (Winstone) is being transferred for assaulting an officer at his previous borstal, Angel (Riley) has been convicted of stealing cars, and Davis (Ford) escaped from an open borstal.  Once in the prison Angel suffers racist abuse from both inmates and guards, and Davis, who is perceived as weak, is also victimised.  Meanwhile Carlin is targeted by the inmates, for his tough reputation, and the guards, who want revenge for the officer he hit.  In order to survive carlin embarks on a desperate, violent struggle to become the top dog, or "daddy", in the borstal.

Scum started out as a television movie made in 1977 for the BBC's groundbreaking Play for Today series.  However, the BBC got cold feet due to the violent content and pulled it form transmission.  Prolific TV director Alan Clarke, who directed the original TV play, and writer Roy Minton decided to remake Scum as a feature film, with most of the original cast of the play returning.  Scum was intended as an indictment of a failing prison system,  Despite the fact that borstal was supposed to be more about rehabilitation than punishment, there is very little attempt at rehabilitation shown, with the staff just as cruel and brutal as the prisoners (or "trainees" as they are called).  The borstal staff are almost all depicted as brutal thugs in suits, the elderly governor is portrayed as a hypocrite who insists that "there is no violence here" despite the fact that violence is almost constant in the institution.  Even the staff who deem to genuinely want to help their charges, such as the Matron (played by Jo Kendall), the film's only female character, don't have the resources, freedom or skill to do anything,  This is a very brutal film, the filmmakers took full advantage of the greater freedom a feature film allowed them to increase the level of violence.  There is a lot of racism and homophobia, frequent violent scenes, a brutal rape scene and a very bloody suicide.  The actors are disturbingly good, particularly Ray Winstone as the film's nominal hero, and Mick Ford as the intelligent, eccentric Archer, one of the film's few likeable characters, whose deadpan humour brings a little light into the darkness.  The film is shot in an almost documentary style, with the stark, white interiors and bleak wintery landscapes outside emphasising the hopelessness of the characters.  In the years since it's release, Scum has become something of a cult film in Britain.  It's worth watching, although I would advise to approach with caution.  It's a harrowing experience.

Ray Winstone in Scum

Black Widow

Year of Release:  2021

Director:  Cate Shortland

Screenplay:  Eric Pearson, story by Jackie Schaeffer and Ned Benson, based on the Marvel comics character Black Widow created by Stan Lee, Don Rico and Don Heck

Starring:  Scarlett Johansson, Florence Pugh, David Harbour, O-T Fagbenle, Ray Winstone, Rachel Weisz, Olga Kurylenko, William Hurt

Running Time:  134 minutes

Genre:  Thriller, science-fiction, superhero

Superhero team The Avengers has collapsed and former assassin turned Avenger Natasha Romanoff, aka Black Widow, (Johansson) is on the run from the US Government.  Contacted by her estranged younger sister, Yelena (Pugh), Natasha learns that the all-female team of elite brainwashed assassins known as "Widows" is still active, and she and Yelena have to confront a monstrous figure from their past and a powerful new "super-soldier" who can exactly mimic any opponent's fighting style so it's like "fighting a mirror".

This is the 24th film in the ongoing Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) franchise, based on characters and stories from Marvel Comics.  This film, however, while there are frequent references to the previous films, is by and large a stand-alone film and can be enjoyed even if you haven't seen all of the others, which is something of a relief.  The film starts off as a gripping spy thriller, although it does become increasingly science-fictional as to goes along.  As played by Scarlett Johansson, Natasha Romanoff is one of the stalwarts of the MCU franchise, but this is the first time that she headlines her own film.  By now, Johansson fits the role like a glove, and here is added Florence Pugh as her sister.  The two work really well together, and there is real chemistry.  In particular Pugh has a nice line in the throwaway delivery of comic one-liners.  David Harbour more or less reprises his gruff-but-loveable dad from Stranger Things (2016-present) but with an added Russian accent.  O-T Fagbenle appears as Natasha's own version of James Bond's Q supplying her with vehicles and equipment.   Rachel Weisz is sinisterly maternal and Ray Winstone is oilily villainous.  Olga Kurylenko does a lot with a little as a tragic, silent assassin and William Hurt has a extended cameo as the US agent on Natasha's trail.  The film has obvious nods to the James Bond franchise, acknowledged in one scene where Natasha watches Moonraker (1979), and there are nods to the TV series The Americans (2013-2018).  By and large this is a very good action film.  the action scenes and special effects are spectacular, the fighting scenes are well choreographed, the jokes are funny and there is some real emotion.  The performances, particularly from Scarlett Johansson and Florence Pugh, are good.  The film's main problem is that the story runs out of steam before the end, and it all wraps up a little too neatly, but it's engaging and spectacular enough that it doesn't really matter.  

By the way, as with all of the MCU films there is an additional brief scene after the closing credits, so stick around.

  Scarlett Johansson and Florence Pugh in Black Widow

 

Sexy Beast

Year of Release:  2000
Director:  Jonathan Glazer
Screenplay:  Louis Mellis and David Scinto
Starring:  Ray Winstone, Ben Kingsley, Ian McShane, Amanda Redman, Cavan Kendall, Julianne White,  Álvaro Monje, James Fox
Running Time:  88 minutes
Genre:  Crime

Gal Dove (Winstone) is a retired British criminal who is now living happily in Spain with his wife DeeDee (Redman).  Gal and DeeDee's peaceful life is interrupted by the arrival of brutal gangster Don Logan (Kingsley) who wants Gal to take part in a bank robbery in London.  Gal wants no part in it, but Logan refuses to take no for an answer.

This film, which marks the feature debut from director Jonathan Glazer, has a fairly straightforward plot, but is elevated by a razor sharp and witty script with great performances, particularly from Ben Kingsley who is terrifying as the unpredictable sociopath Don Logan.  Ray Winstone provides the film's dramatic heft as the ex-crook who just wants to be left in peace, and Ian McShane is striking as the urbane, dead-eyed crime boss who is arranging the heist.  No one else in the film really gets much room to make an impression.  These three guys get the lion's share of the screen time and dialogue.  Contrasting the gorgeous, sun-drenched Spanish landscapes with the grey, dull, urbanity of London, the film is visually impressive, although the occasional surreal fantasy sequences are distracting and out of place.  Much of the tension in the film is from the verbal sparring between Logan and Gal, the threat of violence rather than the actual act, although the film does culminate in some shocking violence.
While this may not be the best British gangster film ever made, it is certainly above average.

Ray Winstone in Sexy Beast