Down Terrace

Madman

R4 DVD

This low budget crime film is a good example of what the British film industry can do with limited resources. It was written and produced by father and son team Robert and Robin Hill and Ben Wheatley. The Hills also play the lead actors Bill and his mentally unstable son Karl. Bill is the head of a local drug distribution organisation and has just been released from prison after the police case against them fails. They now have a major job ahead of them – to find out who in their group has informed to the Police. The heads of the organization in London are not pleased with the drop in sales and expect the matter to be sorted out promptly and very quietly.

Back in their home with Bill’s long-suffering wife Maggie, Bill talks to his friends to see what they have found out about the informer. Each of them seems . straightforward but many have other events occupying their time now and they have grown soft. Even Karl has a pregnant girlfriend, which comes as a surprise to his Dad. This causes a lot of friction in the family and Maggie has trouble smoothing it over. Karl and his uncle Eric kill the man they think is the informer. It should end there but his wife is hysterical and threatens to go further. She must then be killed, and Eric pushes her under a car. Then Eric disappears as well and Karl is attacked. Bill is confused at the speed of events and seems undecided how to handle it. London is becoming concerned at the police interest in the disappearances and murders and sends a man to make their concerns known to Bill and Maggie.

As the killings and disappearances keep mounting the tensions within the family grow. One gang member dies (of natural causes?) ad another is poisoned. Karl’s episodes of rage are becoming more intense, and directed at his father who will still not accept the girlfriend. She also is dragged into the mess and the baby may not he Karl’s but one of the dead men may be the father. As the tension builds we can only try to guess who will die next and who will survive. The outcome is unexpected.

The film is a little slow moving at first but soon picks up speed once the characters have been introduced. If I had to find a criticism it would be that the actors mumble and whisper too many of their lines and I was constantly turning up the volume to hear what was going on then hurriedly turning it back down during the loud bits. This is becoming a common failing in far too many films. Apart from this it is a fine film with well-drawn, well acted characters and a surprisingly good if vicious plot for an independent film. Some of the plot echoes a much earlier British film, Essex Girls, and even a recent Australian film, Animal Kingdom, These films do nasty things to the “family values” ethic so predominant in U.S. films today. This is director Ben Wheatley’s first film and with talent like we see here we will be hearing a lot more of him.

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