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Review: Outlaw (2007)

08th March 2007

Set against the back-drop of a British society in turmoil, Nick Love attempts to show that some can fight back with a violent troupe of dysfunctional victims asserting themselves in a highly polarizing piece that falls short of leaving any real statement.

The story follows the disaffected Afghanistan-veteran Bryant (Sean Bean) and his failure to readjust to modern Britain in its state of decay. Amidst the constant media barrage of drugs and paedophilia, he snaps and recruits psychotic security guard Hillier (Sean Harris), disfigured student Sandy Mardell (Rupert Friend), well-bred barrister Cedric Munroe (Lennie James) and office-working coward Gene (Danny Dyer), with the intention of reasserting the balance between the law and the forgotten. All men carry their own defeatist reason for wanting to take back their pride and take back the streets.

This is all well and good, cemented in an opening hour perforated by innovative cinematography and a commanding performance by Bean (which he retains throughout), but as they begin to act and 'fight back' it soon becomes a tale of personal revenge bordering on every 'Daily Mail' reader's view of society. The interspersed, brutal violence is shocking and graphic which leads to questions of what, if any, is the message: does vigilantism work? Is violence the answer to everything?

As the crusade wages on the motley crew of misfits (think 'The Full Monty' minus the humour) begin to accelerate their campaign against bigger targets but tensions become frayed and the last hour deteriorates into a blood-splattered finale that leaves the audience thinking that the whole pursuit is ultimately pointless.

On the plus side Bob Hoskins, as the group's police mentor Walter Lewis, is solid as expected and the sociopath, quasi-fascist Hillier is played masterfully by Sean Harris. Love is most famous for his controversial piece 'The Football Factory' but this lacks the charm or wit of the lower-budget portrayal of modern yob culture. The array of back-drops serve the film well but it is still somewhat hollow and just furthers the debate on the state of ASBO-Britain rather than casting any insights upon it.

The film will be out on general release from 9th March.

Chris Sloley