Reviews

I've just watched this film on YouTube so the resolution wasn't great, however what an atmospheric well acted movie. The cops are hard boiled flawed individuals and the perpetrators were truly sociopathic. The portrayal the evil couple Ray and Martha knocked the 60s portrayal of Bonnie & Clyde into a cocked hat & probably is only equalled by Martin and Cissy in Badlands. This film didn't follow the formula of having a crescendo like conclusion, but things like this don't in real life, no one wins and all that's left is a big hole of sadness and I think that's what this film does so well. It emphasises the complete self absorption of the perpetrators and the tiny world they inhabit between themselves and demonstrates the evil they do when they interact with the real world. Well worth 8.5 a great telling of a true crime!

I have just watched this film, I'm in the military but never served in Northern Ireland, however I'm old enough to have done & I can remember news of the troubles & the strong views held about the rights & wrongs of that conflict from the perspective of a Teesside populace that provided many of the squaddies serving there. I expected a film that was gonna be fairly black & white in its depiction of the situation (the Paramilitaries being nasty evil individuals & the Brits as perhaps misguided but essentially good). Well how wrong I was, this was a coming of age story set against the backdrop of the troubles with sub plots that examined the brutalisation and radicalisation of young men by the puppet masters on each side of the conflict and exposed the individuals whose only interest is to maintain the conflict because that's what they enjoy.

I've read some of the other reviews & I take on board some of the criticisms, particularly those with first hand knowledge of the troubles & their view of the depiction of them in this film, however what this film did was illustrate how conflict impacts on people in many different ways

I watched the original Scandinavian version & actually downloaded this series by mistake believing that a US version would not be able to match the intensity of the original, how wrong I was.

Although I didn't initially warm to the 2 detectives on the case they grew on me, their imperfections were there for all to see and the viewer made his/her call as in all good media. As the series developed the exploration into individual character & personality became more detailed & intense which along with the twists & turns of the plot made compulsive viewing.

I think what was unique about this series was the examination of events on individuals, be they family members, investigators or people just caught up in the bow wave. Some performances are very strong, Stan & Terri & the 2 boys stand out for me!

In conclusion an excellent view & highly recommended 9/10.

I recorded this when it was first screened and have just watched it. I was actually quite disturbed by this portrait of urban life in sink estate South London. The lack of opportunity and the warped hierarchies that emerge in an environment like this are chilling. I disagree with the other reviewer here in that what happened here was an evil act and the perpetrators dispatched their victim in a calculated manner, there is no excuse or reason for this apart from machismo and misplaced pride, he's certainly not insane, no doubt a nasty personality disorder, but mad no! The Dannys of this world have no place in society.

I think the docudrama was well crafted, and the acting superb, the most sinister character of the lot was Samantha, the immature impulsive girl that played games that ultimately went terribly wrong. In her mind the boy Shaki went from plaything to pawn without a second thought. There is a lot in this piece that is open to interpretation. To agree with the other reviewer, like him I'm sure this scenario has been and will be repeated (albeit with less tragic circumstances) all over the UK.

Am I a narrow minded Brit, no I'm not, however I am repulsed by gang culture as it destroys communities and takes lives as demonstrated here, there are also the others, the people that watched Shaki being killed in their garden, the old lady in the lift, the frightened people on the bus, all people affected by this blight.

I don't know what the answer is, there are gangs in every urban area and tragedies such as this occurring, however I do think programmes such as this one do raise awareness and get people thinking

Watched this film last night on British pay to view. I was initially put off by its length, however I felt the story was strong, acted well and the differing characters were contrasted superbly. The subtext of "don't be surprised about what goes on behind closed doors" and I think a look into some of the more unsavoury aspects of Sweden's past was another insightful subtext.

It certainly wouldn't be screened by the Swedish tourist board and only reflects on a small aspect of the community.

A brave non conventional thriller, no real hero, all characters flawed to a degree, and I think an almost predictable ending, however a good watch!

I watched this film a couple of nights ago with fairly low expectations, well how wrong can you be. This film had me on the edge of my seat from start to finish. The characters are well defined, and the mysticism that was present throughout added to rather than dominated the film. To anyone out there who is in 2 minds whether this production is worth 2 hours of your time, stop dithering sit down and prepare yourself for the ride!!! The beauty but underlying menace of the rain forest was graphic as was the relationship between man and nature. The plot although superficially simple explored many facets of the nature of man from the best, caring and looking after others to absolute cruelty, it also contained a personal tale of actualisation. In all Mel a very good effort, nay excellent A++, this is one I will watch and watch!

I watched this film on Sky movies last night, I had seen bits of it before but never seen it through to the end for various reasons, I think the main one being it didn't force me to watch it, initially it just isn't compelling enough.

However on watching the film through I wish I had stuck at it earlier. As the film develops the contrast between the characters becomes quite exquisite. People commenting have made much of miles stealing from his mother, we all have flaws and this is illustrating his, he also has difficulty moving on and views himself as a victim others, but is a good person who is desperate for positive recognition. The contrast with Jack who is completely egocentric is outstanding. Who does not know someone like this? Someone who would compromise anything to experience the here and now and always comes up smelling of roses, never mind the hurt and pain in his wake.

I enjoyed this film, I am a 48 year old man so perhaps I relate to it, I'm not sure, but very funny and very sad, contrasts always make for good viewing, 8/10

I had the displeasure of watching this film last night. Within 15 minutes of watching it I was too demotivated to switch channels. Samuel L Jackson must really need the dosh, and Ashleigh Judd needs to watch her career doesn't go down the tubes after appearing in dross like this. The story line was pathetic and I knew whodunnit before anyone did anything! This storyline although predictable had some interesting subplots to exploit, macho attitudes toward female promiscuity, sexual harassment etc, instead the portrayal of the characters was wooden and predictable.

I believe the explosion in the number of channels allows films as poor as this are made to fill the airwaves. I feel particularly strongly about this as film channels are not cheap!!