Jack Said (2009)

Directors:

Lee Basannavar
Michael Tchoubouroff

Writers:

Piers Pereira (creator)
Paul Tanter (writer)

Genre:

Crime

Tagline:

Some journeys are measured by what you sacrifice to get there

Plot Keywords:

Character Name In Title

Cast

Danny Dyer	...	Nathan
David O'Hara	...	The Boss
Simon Phillips	...	Jack Adleth
Ashlie Walker	...	Natalie
Terry Stone	...	The Fixer
Rita Ramnani	...	Erin
Julian Lee	...	Dominique
Rebecca Keatley	...	Natasha
Christopher Fosh	...	Dave
Steven Lawson	...	Ozzy
Emile Jansen	...	Other Side Boss
Daniel Roberts	...	The Messenger
Melissa D'Arcy	...	Carly
Jimmy White	...	Vic Lee
Michael Tchoubouroff	...	Dimitri

Also Known As:

Jack Says 2 (International: English title) (working title)

Runtime:

101 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

UK:18

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Company:

Fourth Turning Productions

Trivia:

Based on the graphic novel Jack Said - a prequel leading up to the beginning of the Jack Says feature film. The graphic novel writer Paul Tanter adapted the story and scripted the film.

Movie Connections:

Follows Jack Says (2008)

Impressive British Film Noir

I saw this last night at the cinema and I'm glad it's out on DVD soon as I'm going to get it and watch it again. I thought for an independent low-budget feature, this was a considerably impressive effort. It may not have the money of Sin City – which is clearly an influence for the graphic novels and the films – but they have worked with whatever they had to achieve great production values.

The opening is a massive nod to its graphic novel roots before bringing us into a slightly more recognisable setting but still retaining its noir elements. Scot Simon Phillips is perfectly cast as the everyman-leading man. It's a nice touch that the "name" in the film, Danny Dyer, supports here rather than leads and the predominantly un-famous cast means that we're seeing characters rather than actors laying characters. That said, the two big names, Dyer and David O'Hara, put in often scene-stealing appearances.

Larger that-life in some parts, the characters are clearly based on the graphic novel approach where everything can be in your face, and it works. Ashlie Walker impresses as the sexy psycho seeking to usurp Daddy and Terry Stone is a combination of menacing and funny as the Guv'nor's second in command, 'The Fixer'. It's also impressive that we've finally seen a British gangster film with very strong female characters. Rebecca Keatley and Rita Ramnani provide the "good" to Walkers "bad" and achieve convincingly naturalistic performances.

There are certainly elements of other gangster and noir films. References to the Big Combo, Reservoir Dogs, Sin City, Pulp Fiction and Get Carter abound, but nothing seems lifted, more occasionally treading were others have already tread (thought this isn't always a bad thing). The plot's MacGuffin – a box with mysterious and never-explained contents – is a film staple seen in Ronin and Pulp Fiction, but this is merely a device to propel events forward. The voice-over is of course classic noir – but it's refreshing to hear it as we see London streets rather than American ones.

I can't think of another British film that has even attempted noir in recent years, let alone adapting elements from a graphic novel, and this is a very worthy effort.