Essex Boys (2000)

The film is based loosely around events in December 1995 that culminated in the murders of three drug dealers in Rettendon, Essex, UK. On 6th December Patrick Tate, Craig Rolfe and Tony ... See full summary »

Director:

Terry Winsor

Writers:

Jeff Pope, Terry Winsor

Stars:

Charlie Creed-Miles, Sean Bean, Gareth Milne

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Charlie Creed-Miles	...	Billy Reynolds
Sean Bean	...	Jason Locke
Gareth Milne	...	Chippy
Alex Kingston	...	Lisa Locke
Amelia Lowdell	...	Nicole
Larry Lamb	...	Peter Chase
Michael McKell	...	Wayne Lovell
Holly Davidson	...	Suzy Welch
Terence Rigby	...	Henry Hobbs
Tom Wilkinson	...	John Dyke
Billy Murray	...	Perry Elley
George Jackos	...	Kiri Christos
Sally Hurst	...	Beverley
Louise Landon	...	Jemma
Gary Love	...	Detective

Storyline

The film is based loosely around events in December 1995 that culminated in the murders of three drug dealers in Rettendon, Essex, UK. On 6th December Patrick Tate, Craig Rolfe and Tony Tucker, three drug dealers well known to the police, were lured to Workhouse Lane, Rettendon. There they were blasted to death with a shot gun while sitting in their Range Rover. They had been lured to their deaths on the pretext of a lucrative drugs deal. The three bodies were found the following morning, 7 December 1995.

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Plot Keywords:

murder of a nude woman | nudity | essex | girl wearing panties | rape victim | 

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Taglines:

Some lines should never be crossed.

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Genres:

Crime | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violence, language, sexuality and drug content

Did You Know?

Trivia

Based on a true story

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Quotes

Billy Reynolds: [voiceover] See 'im, Peter, he's the top boy - he runs the show. And 'im, Wayne, does whatever Peter tells 'im. And Jason, well, every firm needs a mad acid-bath murderer, don't they?

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Crazy Credits

Statement in opening titles: "This story is inspired by a single true event. It left three men dead, two serving life imprisonment and another living under an assumed identity. The rest is fiction, as are all the characters."

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Connections

References The Hit

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Soundtracks

Feel Me
Performed by D.Stabiliser

User Reviews

Grim, realistic gangster film, based on a true story

For those who remember the actual triple murder in Essex which inspired the film, this carries an added edge of realism. The setting - the mock-tudor nouveau riche houses of the gangsters, the Southend seafront, the freezing marshes where Billy runs for his life, are as evocative, as the true-to-life performances of Sean Bean, Alex Kingston and Tom Wilkinson. It is refreshing to see a film which portrays the underworld in all its vindictive pettiness - the little slights which turn into murderous feuds - dozens poisoned by a rogue batch of E, a young girl, dead from an overdose, casually dumped at sea...

The Hollywood view of Gangland England has been too long focused on the East End - Snatch, Long Good Friday, Lock, Stock... when real Londoners know the East End's good for curry houses, and the gangsters headed out to the Home counties years ago.

Interesting to note that several comments in the reviews of this superlative film concerned the unintelligible accents. I should point out that viewers in the UK (and Holland and most Scandinavian countries) regularly enjoy American films without the aid of subtitles, so how come you find it so hard to understand us? :) We didn't complain that the cast of Donnie Brasco or Goodfellas had New York accents, so why complain that the Essex boys have Essex accents?

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 July 2000 (UK)

Also Known As:

Gangsters - The Essex Boys

Filming Locations:

Dartford Crossing - QEII Bridge, Dartford, Kent, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Granada Film Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1