London Boulevard

Sticking with Keira Knightley, which I would love to do, I turn to London Boulevard, a 2010 British film that never was released in the U.S. It was written and directed by William Monahan, the screenwriter of The Departed, in his directorial debut.

Though the film has a lot of familiar elements, I admired its style and Colin Farrell's cold-blooded performance as a hoodlum just out of prison. As usual in the movies, he wants to go straight, but is drawn back into the underworld by his friend Ben Chaplin, who gets him work collecting for a loan shark. Meanwhile, he gets a chance at a job providing security for a reclusive movie star (Knightley).

Eventually the big boss, Ray Winstone (another fine performance), wants Farrell to move up in the organization, but Farrell says thanks but no thanks. Winstone ends up murdering someone in Farrell's presence to make him an accessory, but Farrell runs afoul of him and, as Bugs Bunny used to say, "This means war."

Knightley's role is almost a glorified cameo. She, of course, falls in love with Farrell. Far more interesting is David Thewlis as Knightley's personal assistant, who takes to a life of crime with brio. "How do you feel about guns?" Farrell asks him. Thewlis responds, "I'm a trained actor. I can feel anything about anything."

Shot in grimy muted colors by Chris Menges, London Boulevard fits right in with recent British crime films like Harry Brown or even all the way back to The Long Good Friday. It's not a great picture, but I enjoyed it (helped by the subtitles that Comcast On Demand thoughtfully provides).