Film Reviews

Outlaw

• Rating:
• Director: Nick Love.
• Starring: Sean Bean, Danny Dyer, Bob Hoskins, Lennie James.
• Details: UK / 118mins (18).

"It's a dirty fu**in' world." A spit in the face of society, Outlaw is the angriest film to be released this side of Fight Club. The story follows four men hell-bent on changing the social order: soldier Bryant (Bean) who returns home from Iraq to find his wife shacked up with another man, call centre employee Gene (Dyer) who's bullied by his boss, twitchy night watchman Simon (Simon Hillier) and barrister Cedric (James) whose pregnant wife is stabbed in the stomach by the gangsters whom he's prosecuting. Tired of the law defending those in the wrong and "being bullied and raped by c#nts like Blair," the four men form a vigilante group and set about putting things right - but can they stop before they take it too far? Ever walk home from a nightclub minding your business when suddenly you are set upon by a group of guys who beat the crap out of you for no reason? Have you replayed that scene in your mind over and over again? If so, Outlaw could be your new favourite film and let the powers that be help those who cross you after watching this. Writerdirector Nick Love, who is obviously exorcising some very personal demons, certainly stirs the blood and provokes debate here. He doesn't come right out and say it, but Love hopes that the next time someone starts, it's better to stand your ground and take a kicking instead of going home, mulling over the scenario and feeling like a loser. Love's perpetually kinetic camera keeps the movie moving at top speed - even during the quieter moments - and manages to keep you tense-ridden for most of the duration. It's a threadbare plot as Love can only sustain the revenge story for so long before it gets a bit samey, while his sometimes OTT dialogue snaps you out of the dreamlike state he's cast you under. Still, Outlaw's pure hate manages to keep it swinging.

Review by Gavin Burke