=G= Review of The Young Americans

The Young Americans (1993)

A powerful dark drama with millieu and mood first and story second.

[7/10 · 10 December 2001]

There's hardly a smile to be found in this dark, brooding, oppressively heavy drama which tells of an American DEA agent (Keitel) who comes to London to assist in the capture of a drug trafficker as the UK bends under the strain of a virulent drug trade. The camera spends most of the time examining the bleak, grim, and sad expressions of police, innocents, and others caught up in the drug war leaving the plot muddled and somewhat buried in its attempt to show that where drugs are involved there are no winners. A powerfully compelling drama for those who can appreciate the reality of the lose-lose nature of crime.