A crew comprising bent cops and crooks are forced into carrying out a complex heist for Russian gangsters in order to get paid.
My synopsis is skeletal: it was either that, or go into great detail about a plot which is superficially complex by virtue of the number of different groups and subgroups involved, with crossover between them. This apparent complexity hides a relatively straightforward story which, itself, is cluttered up with texture and detail which obscures the main plot line (there is an extended sequence involving the graphic aftermath of a gangland slaying, the purpose of which is to illustrate relationships between certain of the characters and introduce a couple of minor characters who have important actions later, but this scene is given such detailed attention that one is misled into believing that it has greater plot relevance than is actually the case).
A good and powerful cast work hard to bring life to a thriller which, I think, has rather less to it than meets the eye. Kate Winslet impresses by looking and sounding nothing like Kate Winslet, and pretty nearly everyone in this gives a good performance.
But I was left puzzled at the end because I never felt the film had a sense of purpose to it – the events happened and each character suffered a particular fate and then it ended. Yes, I know you can say that about most films, but the stakes in this were so high that I was expecting a resolution to the film which meant more.
My synopsis is skeletal: it was either that, or go into great detail about a plot which is superficially complex by virtue of the number of different groups and subgroups involved, with crossover between them. This apparent complexity hides a relatively straightforward story which, itself, is cluttered up with texture and detail which obscures the main plot line (there is an extended sequence involving the graphic aftermath of a gangland slaying, the purpose of which is to illustrate relationships between certain of the characters and introduce a couple of minor characters who have important actions later, but this scene is given such detailed attention that one is misled into believing that it has greater plot relevance than is actually the case).
A good and powerful cast work hard to bring life to a thriller which, I think, has rather less to it than meets the eye. Kate Winslet impresses by looking and sounding nothing like Kate Winslet, and pretty nearly everyone in this gives a good performance.
But I was left puzzled at the end because I never felt the film had a sense of purpose to it – the events happened and each character suffered a particular fate and then it ended. Yes, I know you can say that about most films, but the stakes in this were so high that I was expecting a resolution to the film which meant more.