Bonded By Blood

Eagle Entertainment

Web: http://www.eagleentertainment.com.au

R4 DVD

British crime films are notable for a level of gritty violence second only to their Korean equivalents. Unlike their American counterparts they rely less on guns and more on character. They also are not afraid to use complex plots and half the drama is in the complex interplay of people and events. There is a little-known film called Essex Boys that deals with the London drug industry and Bonded by Blood is in the same line.

It deals with the inter-gang rivalries and turf war between two gangs. Young Darren, a junior but rising member of one gang, muses "It was never going to be a happy ending." He’s right. There is double-crossing, deaths due to over-strength contaminated Ecstasy, and an increasing police pressure.

The gang war escalates to the point that the leaders have plots to kill each other. It is not just the gang members who will be affected. Their families will suffer too, although it is hard to feel sorry for the women who know perfectly well where their husbands’ and boyfriends’ money comes from.

The characters are unsympathetic – coarse, promiscuous and violent. The amount of swearing verges on the excessive and detracts a little from their personalities and the overall film. Unlike the American films that can fit three “motherfuckers” into a single sentence, the Brits are a little more restrained and less offensive in their swearing.

The film may have been made on a tight budget but it doesn’t show it. If you can handle the swearing and violence this an excellent example of the genre.

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