When blackmailers try extorting businessman Roy Scheider over his fling with a stripper, he thwarts them by telling his wife—so they film the girl being murdered and threaten to frame him. At which point, it gets personal. Although co-scripted by the author, John Frankenheimer's flat 1986 movie is just another unsatisfactory Elmore Leonard adaptation. The dialogue occasionally crackles, but the casting is off and the pace drags enough to let you count the implausibilities.
DIRECTED BY Shane Meadows
STARRING Paddy Considine, Gary Stretch, Toby Kebbell
Opened October 1, Cert 18, 86 mins
Now that the '90s trend for chucking Lottery cash at tax-break B-movies is over, we're left with a stripped-down who's who of great British directors. Jonathan Glazer's in it. Guy Ritchie isn't. Matthew Vaughn and Paul Greengrass are new entries. All great, but perhaps none are as worthy of your attention as Shane Meadows.