"Outlaw" is about a group of people that take the law into their own hands and try to right perceived wrongs. It's about people that are sick of being treated like they don't exist. Failed by the government and left to fend for themselves by a redundant police force, "Outlaw" is about people that have had enough and decide to do something about it.
They take to the streets and deal with the wrongs themselves. The film is the next to come from writer/director Nick Love following his successes with "The Football Factory" in 2004 and "The Business" in 2005. "Outlaw" will be entirely funded by the public through a tiered payment strategy available only on the film's official site.
Returning from duty in Iraq, Danny Bryant (Bean) returned home to a London that he did not recognise. Disillusioned with the way he had been treated in the Parachute Regiment and what the country he pledged to defend has become, he decides to take matters into his own hand. Joined by Gene Decker (Dyer) who was brutally beaten after been involved in a car accident, Sandy (Friend) whose face is badly scared from a vicious attack, Simon Hiller (Harris) a disgruntled security guard and barrister Cedric Munroe (James) who is being terrorised by thugs working for a London crime lord he tried to prosecute, Bryant decides to take the fight to the criminal and deal out some real justice.
British writer/director Nick Love is no stranger to controversy but will Outlaw cause even more debate and discussion? After gaining a reputation for tackling controversial subjects in his previous two movies, The Football Factory and The Business , Nick Love gives us another no holds barred look at another problem with society but this time on a much grander scale. Having already covered football hooliganism and the 1980s Costa Del Crime, his new project looks at the current state of the crime on the streets of London and the justice system as a whole.
The main emphasis of the movie is to highlight how the justice system in this country is more criminal than victim friendly. With the Police bogged down by excessive paperwork and a lack of manpower and resources, many crimes are classed as too minor to investigate or not a priority. The justice is system is the same.
Criminals are released early because of overcrowding in prisons, sentences are been lobbied to be made shorter and known criminal organisations are left to flourish do to restrictions within the actual system of law. The movie posses the question What if the victims of crime took punishment into their own hands? and how the public would react to these vigilantes.
This is an extremely interesting storyline for debate but unfortunately while the film raises the question, it doesn t really answer it. The first two thirds of the movie are extremely good. As we see how the Outlaws came to want justice after becoming disillusioned with the justice system and how they are left to feel helpless, we quickly become attached to each of the men and feel sympathy for what they have had to endure.
We also listen to Bryant s point of view and for the most part agree with it, as they set out to take down the criminal organisations that have free reign on the streets of London. It is the final act of the movie that lets the film down however. Rushed and going down an extremely obvious path, the movie seems to loose focus from its original message and turn into an excuse for excessive violence and lots of gun play.
The performances do distract you slightly from the disappointing ending however. Sean Bean leads the line as the disgruntled Danny Bryant. This is a role that Bean can play in his sleep but his presence in the part does make the film all the more watchable.
Nick Love favourite Danny Dyer plays a role very different from the last two he portrayed for the writer/director. As the bullied Gene Decker he reveals a more timid side that his usual brass and arrogant self. Bob Hoskins brings some class to the production as the Outlaw s connection in the police force.
There are also good performances from Lennie James as barrister Munroe and Sean Harris as the slightly mad Hiller. Outlaw is another step forward for writer/director Nick Love. He still needs to work on his style as the constantly moving camera becomes slightly nauseating after a while, as does the pulling in and out of focus.
His script writing skills have improved however and the film has quite a lot to say but the ending doesn t really finish the statement he is trying to make. After The Business and now Outlaw , Nick Love is turning into a filmmaker that you might have to start taking notice of. Presented in Anamorphic Widescreen 2.
35:1 with Dolby Digital 5.1, the movie is presented well. "Outlaw" is about a group of people that take the law into their own hands and try to right perceived wrongs.
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