Straightheads (2007)

Director:

Dan Reed

Writer:

Dan Reed (writer)

Release Date:

27 April 2007 (UK)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

Let the revenge fit the crime

Plot:

After surviving a gang rape and mugging, a middle aged businesswoman and her 23 year old boyfriend plot to murder their attackers, but find themselves conflicted about carrying out their plans.

Plot Keywords:

Rape | Party | Night | Sex | Revenge

Cast

Danny Dyer	...	Adam
Gillian Anderson	...	Alice
Adam Rayner	...	Jago
Antony Byrne	...	Misha (as Anthony Byrne)
Anthony Calf	...	Heffer
Ralph Brown	...	Jamie
Steven Robertson	...	Bill
Gugu Mbatha-Raw	...	Young PA
Neil Finnighan	...	Man On Horse
Francesca Fowler	...	Sophie

Also Known As:

Closure (USA) (DVD title)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong brutal violence including rape, sexual content, language and some drug use.

Runtime:

80 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

UK:18 | Ireland:18 | USA:R | Singapore:M18 (cut) | Finland:K-15 | Australia:MA | Italy:T | South Korea:18 | Germany:18 | New Zealand:R18

Filming Locations:

Bridgnorth, Shropshire, England, UK

Company:

DJ Films

Trivia:

Is featured in Times Online as one of "The 100 best films of 2007"

Soundtrack:

Imperial

Reasonable, interesting but somewhat flawed Brit revenge movie

I saw this last night and it kept my attention throughout as well as providing some entertainment, but it is definitely a bit disappointing. The plot is simple, Gillian Anderson picks up Danny Dyer as company for a party, the two are attacked, Anderson is raped and they want revenge. Its a formula premise, used to perfection in some of the finest older exploitation movies, but this doesn't come near to the better known outings in the genre. The writing is what really hurts the film. Though the story, the character development and the general progression of the movie is well done, most of the times any of the characters open their mouths, what comes out just seems really off. Its a shame to see the actors grappling with the stilted lines and they all do their best but much of the dialogue just doesn't work and comes off as lame and irritating. The acting is great for the most part, with Danny Dyer giving the best performance I have seen from him as the initially reluctant Adam and Gillian Anderson is truly superb as the more readily vengeful Alice. In fact her performance is among the greatest acting I have ever seen in a rape revenge based movie. Anthony Calf does well as the instigator of the attack and the rest are decent too. Its just a shame about the dialogue. Dan Reed directs nicely for the most part, there's a grim, depressing but realistic feel to the film and the opening attack is non graphic but suitably harsh. Unfortunately the ending is abrupt and not too satisfying, and while the film is clearly trying to avoid redemption through violence clichés, there is a one gleefully unsubtle and exploitative moment that rather undermines this intention. Altogether the film is well made and probably worth a watch for fans of this sort of thing, presenting as it does a surprisingly intelligent depiction of the trauma that violence causes and the psychologically warping effects of getting into the revenge mindset. However the abundance of clunky lines plus the nastier moments and lack of subtlety stop this from working too well as intelligent stuff, while it doesn't really pass muster as exploitation. Falling between these two stools, its basically a reasonable misfire.